#CousinsForAmerica

Team USA faces off against the Dominican Republic at 12:30 PT. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay should see notable minutes as Team USA seeks to improve to 4-0 in the FIBA World Cup. The game will air on ESPN2.

Go Kings (players)! Go USA!

We continue our 30Q series with a deeper look at Top Hat.

In the afterglow of new ownership and new management, the Sacramento Kings made their first big move of the 2013 free agency period by signing Carl Landry to a 4-year contract valued at $6.5 million per season.  Landry had just completed one of the best seasons of his career, playing for the Golden State Warriors directly under the noses of Michael Malone and Vivek Ranadive.

The contract was difficult to justify at the time, even considering the great season Landry had just completed.  Landry would turn 30 before the start of the season, and the deal would run through Landry turning 33.  The contract looks even worse a year later.  Landry tore a hip flexor last preseason, missing the first several months of the season.  When Landry made his debut, he wasn't in game shape and still didn't look healthy.  After several weeks of playing through pain, an MRI confirmed that Landry had torn a meniscus in his right knee.  So now we examine whether Landry can come back healthy, and if he does, can he live up to his contract?

The first question is a little easier to evaluate.  Can Carl Landry come back healthy?  Absolutely.  David Lee suffered a torn hip flexor in the 2013 playoffs and had one of the best years of his career last season.  Lee is a year younger than Landry, but Lee shows no indication of any long term damage due to his injury.  Torn meniscuses are also somewhat common in the NBA.  Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Eric Bledsoe have all suffered the injury, albeit at a much younger age than Landry.  But Top Hat has certainly had a long enough period to expect a full recovery.

The more difficult question is whether Landry can live up to his contract.

The trouble with determining contract value is that you're attempting to put a specific dollar value to specific skill sets.  Robin Lopez makes $6.1 million this coming year.  Is he a better player than a healthy Landry?  Arguably no, but he might be a better value at $6.1 million on the Kings roster than Landry will be for $6.5 million.

The issues with Landry's contract go beyond simply the dollar value.  Quite simply, it's too much money for what Landry brings to this Kings team.  If Landry was signed for $6.5 million a year to be a bench big on a playoff contender, his contract might be worth it.  But the Kings are far from that position.  Landry's contract runs long enough that he'll likely be around when Kings management is hoping to be a playoff contender.  But I don't see Landry being the guy who helps get the Kings over the hump, like him as I may.

And will Landry be on the roster still?  Probably, because he's not perceived as being a good value to his contract, so there's no line of suitors wanting to acquire him in trade.  This could change with a good season, but the length of the contract remains prohibitive for trades.  Teams aren't eager to add long term salary for big men in their 30s.

I don't believe Landry will live up to his contract, but I believe he'll come close enough that we as Kings fans can live with it.  Landry's game never relied on athleticism.  He's exceptionally efficient.  The biggest issue going forward will be how he fits with the Kings' ever-changing roster.

The Kings drafted a player who is more ready to play in the NBA than most rookies, but will he have a meaningful impact for the Kings in his first season?

When the Kings drafted Nik Stauskas back in June, the reaction of most Kings fans was confusion.  Didn't the Kings just draft a shooting guard the year prior?  Wasn't there a need for better defense?

Still, the selection made sense after further thought.  Yes, the Kings had drafted a Shooting Guard in Ben McLemore the year before, but McLemore was also the only real Shooting Guard on the entire roster and he had struggled mightily in his rookie season.  The Kings also wanted guys that could help now, and players like Noah Vonleh and Elfrid Payton were considered riskier prospects that would take time to develop.

As such, expectations for Nik Stauskas' rookie season are a little higher due to the fact that he's expected to be able to come in and help right away, at least on the offensive side of the ball.  Unlike McLemore last year, Stauskas has an elite skill he can rely on night in and night out in his shooting.

When McLemore was drafted, his shooting was a plus, having shot 42% from downtown in his lone year of college.  However, that didn't really translate in the NBA where that percentage dropped all the way to 32%.  I don't foresee Nik Stauskas having that same problem.  Stauskas shot both a higher percentage (44.1% over two years) and a higher volume of attempts (5.8 a game in his sophomore year) from long range.  In NBA Summer League, he shot 47.8% from three in 7 games.

The Kings really struggled from long range last year.  They were 27th in 3P% (.333) and 28th in three pointers made.  Stauskas can help that from day one.  More importantly, unlike previous rookie shooters Ben McLemore and Jimmer Fredette, Stauskas can actually create his own shots thanks to the fact that he's a more than competent ball handler already.  In his sophomore year of college, Stauskas was asked to take more of a primary role as a facilitator thanks to Trey Burke leaving for the NBA, and he responded with a big jump in assist rate (7.6% to 18.8%) while keeping his turnover rate about the same (11.5% to 12.0%).

Stauskas also brings high basketball awareness and savvy for a rookie.  While Summer League isn't a great indicator of how a player will play, it was the little things that Nik would do that really gave me hope for his future aside from things like his shooting.  On a few occasions, Nik would pass up an open shot, not out of timidity like a rookie Fredette once did, in order to get the ball to a teammate in a better position to score.  Here's one such example at the 26 second mark:

Nik still has a lot of work to do on his game (particularly on defense), and he almost certainly won't be a "star" as a rookie (or possibly ever), but he can help and he can help now.  Simply having someone that can be relied upon to hit an open shot and to move the ball when the opportunity presents itself is a big boon to Sacramento's offense.

Jordan White of Hardwood Paroxysm and The Cauldron joins us to talk about the NBA.

The Sactown Royalty Show is back!  This week I'm joined by Jordan White.  Jordan writes for Hardwood Paroxysm and The Cauldron, and is responsible for some of the worst photoshops on Twitter.  But he's a die-hard NBA fan, and we're going to pick his brain on the summer's events.

We talked about a lot of topics on the show, including Team USA, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, Nik Stauskas, and Ray McCallum.  We also talked about the Kings' long term outlook, the philosophical attitudes of rooting for a bad team, and whether August or September is the worst month of the NBA season.

Like the show? Subscribe to us on iTunes or on Stitcher! Leave us ratings, leave comments, let us know how we're doing. Ratings and comments on iTunes really help us out with promoting the show. And of course, continue the discussion in the comments below.

And a big thanks to Audible.com for supporting us. To get your free 30-day trial and a free audiobook, sign up here. Using that particular link gets you the special offer, and let's them know you heard about them through our show.

As always, thanks for listening.

The Nets global ambitions won't end with the FIBA World Cup.

The team will travel farther and face better international competition this pre-season than any other NBA team, with a trip to China to play the Kings and their opening night, now only a month away, vs. the Euroleague champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The NBA released details this week on what international teams will play NBA squads in October. Last month, it released the Global Games schedules, the dates when NBA teams will play overseas.

The Nets open their preseason on October 7 vs. Maccabi, which won its sixth Euroleague title last year. Jeremy Pargo, who played for Lionel Hollins at Memphis, leads Israel's perennial champ.  The next day, they board a plane and head for China, where they will play the Kings on October 12 in Shanghal and three days later in Beijing.  Be prepared for a lot of Kevin Garnett love.  He and Kobe Bryant are the most popular players in China.

"We're going to China this year (because)  We aspire to be global," said Brett Yormark Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg News, repeating a team mantra that started with Mikhail Prokhorov buying the team in 2010. The Nets will also have at least five international players in training camp, a record for the team.

The games are two of five international preseason games the league will play in four countries this October as part its efforts to connect with its fans globally. In addition to the games held in China, the Cavaliers, Heat and Spurs will play a series of games in Brazil, Germany and Turkey.  But no one will fly as far as the Nets and Kings. And the Kings will face Maccabi Haifa,a lesser Israeli league team

The Nets and Kings are the NBA's only internationally owned teams, Brooklyn owned by Russia's Mikhail Prokhorov and Sacramento by Vivek Ranadive of India.

• NBA teams will play 9 home games vs. international teams - USA Today
  

The Kings were still a bad defensive team last year under Mike Malone and that probably isn't changing any time soon.

When the Kings hired Mike Malone last summer, one of his biggest talking points was about improving the defense.  Under Keith Smart, the 2012-13 Kings gave up the most points per game and had the second-worst defensive rating in the entire league.  With the team at risk of relocating, defense did not seem to be a priority and Smart instead opted for a fast-pace offense to at least keep it entertaining and work to the team's strengths.

The Kings didn't exactly become a defensive juggernaut in Mike Malone's first year as a coach, but they did get much better.  The Kings overall defensive rating improved to 23rd from 29th despite an incredible amount of roster turnover and almost everyone known for defense (Hayes, Salmons, Mbah a Moute) traded throughout the year for offensive minded players.

However, getting better does not mean they became good.  The Kings were still one of the worst teams in the league at defending the three point line, ranking 29th in opponent 3 point percentage and opponent shots within 3 feet.  They also weren't very good at forcing turnovers, ranking 26th in opponent turnovers per 100 possessions. Sacramento also fouled way too much, ranking 26th in total fouls committed and 27th in opponent free throw attempts. The only areas that the Kings were really above average at defensively was defending the mid-range (3rd at 37.6%) and defensive rebounding rate (3rd).

One thing the Kings did have going for them last season is that they did seem to improve as the season went along.  After giving up 46.8%, 47.9% and 46.2% shooting in November, December, and January respectively, the Kings ended the year by holding opponents to 44.8%, 45.5% and 44.6% in the last three months.  If they had kept that up all year, they would have been about 9th in opponent FG% rather than 20th.

Sacramento's front office hasn't done much to help Mike Malone improve the defense this summer.  The draft yielded Nik Stauskas, a talented shooter and scorer but with a lacking defensive acumen.  The Point Guard switch from Isaiah Thomas to Darren Collison has been touted as a potential defensive upgrade, but that could just be a case of switching from terrible defense to just bad defense.  Omri Casspi has never been called a defensive stopper and the Kings also lost athletes in Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy (who might not have been good defenders but at least tried).  The one signing that could potentially improve Sacramento's defense is rookie Eric Moreland, but Moreland has a lot of work ahead of him to not only get a rotation spot, but also to make the team itself (terms of his multi-year contract have yet to be disclosed, but it's a good guess that most of it is unguaranteed money).

The Kings are not a team built to be a defensive powerhouse.  Barring any other changes, I don't see a whole lot of improvement on this end next season either.  DeMarcus Cousins really improved on defense last year and as the leader of the team, he'll have to keep improving.  That's why this Team USA experience is so good for him, as he's being asked to take a smaller, more defensive-minded role and he's seemingly responded.  It's my hope that both he and Rudy bring that mentality back with them for the regular season.

Sacramento can also help their cause a little bit by improving the offensive efficiency.  More made shots and less misses, as well as less turnovers (the Kings were 23rd in turnovers) allows less opportunities for the other team to get fast breaks going before the defense is set.

The Kings will have a full training camp together to get ready and there's unlikely to be the same level of roster turnover that there was last year, so while there probably won't be a huge leap, I do think we'll see additional baby steps taken back toward at least being a competent defensive team.  If the Kings can finish this season showing that they can at least be an average defensive team, I think that will be a huge success given the roster makeup, and a good foundation going forward.

(Statistics used in this post courtesy of NBA.com and basketball-reference.com)

Our 30Q series continues with a look at the Kings chances for the 2015 All-Star Weekend.

The 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend featured just 35 minutes of Sacramento Kings content with the brief appearance by rookie Ben McLemore in the disappointing Dunk Contest. The weekend had no other Kings participant, and aside from DeMarcus Cousins, no other player should have expected an invitation in the first place.

Given the organizations' goals of big improvements on the 28-win season, this year's All-Star Weekend could serve as a barometer of that improvement. Will more Kings representatives be selected this season? Let's consider the chances for each event.

The best (and likely, only) shot the Kings have at an All-Star birth is DeMarcus Cousins, but the deep Western Conference is still his biggest obstacle. He was averaging 22.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest before the break last year, but he was playing in the deepest conference in recent memory. Blake Griffin and Kevin Love started for the West, and the Coaches selected three big men - LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwight Howard and Dirk Nowitzki - ahead of Cousins. Anthony Davis was later added to replace injured Kobe Bryant.

Fast forward a year, and even with Love's departure from the Conference, it will still be a challenge for Cousins to make this year's squad. Griffin is a lock for a starting spot, while Howard, Aldridge and Davis all have bigger reputations among the voting NBA fanbase. The Coaches select the reserves, but they don't have the best reputation at the job (see last season's pick of Joe Johnson ahead of Kyle Lowry and Al Jefferson). Savvy veterans such as Nowitzki and Tim Duncan will also call for considerations for legacy purposes even if they don't match Cousins' individual numbers.

By no means are Cousins All-Star hopes a lost cause, and there are reasons for optimism. He spent a summer "rehabilitating" his image, and any success with Team USA will help his reputation around the league. The biggest need for Boogie to guarantee a roster spot is wins; while players from bad teams will always make All-Star rosters (Davis and Kyrie Irving made it in 2014 with teams below .500) it was a criticism that was lobbed at Cousins more than most. If he averages similar numbers to last season, continues to play tough defense, AND the team isn't in the tank come February, it'd be a lot harder for the Coaches to ignore.

There's also a chance that Rudy Gay could continue to build on last seasons' super-efficient play and snag an All-Star spot, but given the depth of the West, it's not a safe bet.

After 2014's disaster of a dunk contest wrapped up far too quickly, McLemore may not get the second chance he deserves. The Western team of McLemore, Damian Lillard and Harrison Barnes fell victim to a contest format that wrapped up after a short team dunk exhibition and only one show dunk from McLemore (which was as memorable for Shaq's gregariousness as it was for Ben's actual dunk). The Minnesota Timberwolves also added two highlight dunking rookies in Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine-the league might be eager enough to shine the spotlight on the rookies that they don't extend a second invitation to McLemore.

On the flip side, rookie Nik Stauskas has the talent to give the Kings their first Three Point Shootout contestant since Peja Stojaković in 2005. It's too early to know how much playing time Stauskas will earn this season, and a limited role would diminish his chances, but he's already gotten a reputation for his longball skills. If the league wants to showcase their young shooters, sneaking in Stauskas and fellow rookie Doug McDermott would be nifty.

The most promising event for the Kings (as it has been for the past six seasons) is the Rising Stars Challenge. While Sacramento has three youngsters capable of making the team (McLemore, Stauskas and Ray McCallum), the fact that McLemore and Stauskas will compete for playing time may limit their individual statistics enough to keep one (or both) out of the challenge.

Sacramento's front office has said they envision ways to play the two together, and if Michael Malone finds an efficient way to do that, it'd be a positive sign for their long-term potentials if they both earn a spot in the challenge. While McCallum is expected to play off the bench behind Darren Collison, Collison won't demand so many minutes that McCallum won't have a chance to show his abilities. If he builds off of his performances in this years' Summer League, he's a dark horse to represent the franchise on All-Star Weekend.

My nostradumbass predictions (Akis doesn't have that trademarked, right?): while Cousins isn't likely to beat out Griffin, Howard or Aldridge for starting votes, I'll stay optimistic that this will be the year he gets the nod from the Coaches as a reserve. With the influx of dunking talent arriving in Minnesota, I don't expect McLemore to get a second invitation to the Dunk Contest, and I also think Stauskas will need a year or two of longball success before he makes a Three Point Shootout. As for the rookie/sophomore game, I'll choose foolish optimism and predict that McLemore and McCallum make the squad by virtue of their mediocre sophomore draft class.

Team USA advanced with ease, while DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay had good games.

Team USA defeated Mexico 86-63 on Saturday, advancing themselves to FIBA World Cup Quarterfinals.  Team USA jumped out to an early lead and never let up.  For a team that's struggled in the first half throughout the tournament, it was a positive development as Team USA moves forward.

DeMarcus Cousins had another strong showing, scoring 11 points to go along with seven rebounds, two blocks, and an assist.  Cousins had a perfect shooting night, going 5-5 from the field and 1-1 from the free throw line.

Rudy Gay had a bounce-back game after a poor shooting performance against Ukraine.  Against Mexico, Rudy went 4-7 from the field, including 2-3 from three.  He finished with 10 points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal.

Team USA was led by the Splash Brothers, seeing Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson score 20 and 15 points, respectively.

Team USA will next play the winner of Saturday's match-up between the Dominican Republic and Slovenia.

The Kings officially waived Jeremy Tyler, as expected.

The Sacramento Kings have announced that they officially waived Jeremy Tyler on Saturday.  Tyler was acquired by the Kings from the New York Knicks in the deal that unloaded Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy.

Sacramento Kings waive forward-center Jeremy Tyler

— Bryan May (@BMayNews10) September 6, 2014

The Sacramento Kings had previously waived Wayne Ellington, who had also been acquired in the same deal.  At the time of the trades, Sam Amick explained that both players were expected to be waived by Sacramento.

Tyler initially caught attention for skipping his senior year of high school, and playing internationally instead of attending college.  Tyler entered the NBA in 2011, but has struggled to make a consistent impact.  There was some speculation that the Kings might keep Tyler due to their lack of depth behind DeMarcus Cousins.  The Kings currently have Jason Thompson and Sim Bhullar as the only players who can play consistent minutes at center.

Waiving Tyler frees the Kings of Tyler's unguaranteed salary, which Sham Sports reports was $948,163.

Sophomore Ben McLemore still has fantastic potential, but patience is required when it comes to the young shooting guard.

It's been a rocky 14 months for Ben McLemore. In the eyes of the collective Sacramento fanbase, he flipped from lottery favorite to total bust and landed somewhere in between by the end of last season. He went from being the one respectable shooting guard on the Kings depleted roster to contending with a sharpshooting rookie for playing time. Aside from DeMarcus Cousins, is there a harder player to figure out on the Kings roster than McLemore?

The biggest negative for McLemore's rookie season-aside from his lack of defensive awareness-was his inability to play up to the sky-high expectations placed on him by the hungry Sacramento fans. Not that Kings faithful were fully too blame for their excitement-the team was here to stay, AND a player who'd been mocked as a top selection had fallen to No. 7. Fan expectation fueled by rave reviews of McLemore's potential (Vivek Ranadive called him the team's "dream choice") set the rookie up so disappointment was pretty much inevitable.

Aside from his NBA athleticism, McLemore was still an all-around raw player. Even worse, thanks to a suddenly apathetic Marcus Thornton, he was forced into a bigger role then his skills were ready for. By the All-Star break, he was averaging 7.6 points on 36.6% shooting and looked lost on defense, and Kings fans went from ecstatic to near panic in eight months flat. When McLemore's name popped up in trade rumors, it seemed the turnaround was complete.

With McLemore entering his second season and Nik Stauskas in contention for his starting role, it's time to provide McLemore with realistic expectations going forward, rather than the sky-high/sky-is-falling levels the fanbase hit last year. If last year taught anything, it's that patience is needed-McLemore needs to show patience on the court, and fans need to show patience in McLemore's growth.

While McLemore's 2014 Summer League statistics didn't show huge improvement, he played with more aggression and confidence than he showed in his rookie season. He still had lapses of inconsistency, and he still had issues with ball control (3.8 turnovers a contest), but overall he showed growth on both ends of the court. While he played more aggressively, he also slowed down and let the game come to him, the most encouraging sign of his development. Now that he's had a full year in the NBA, hopefully McLemore will continue to show that aggression and that patience when the regular season starts.

While he was brought in to be a shooter (43.7% of his shots were from three), McLemore struggled with the longer NBA three point shots. From the corner threes, he shot 42%, but he converted just 28.4% from the rest of the three point line. While the Kings can run plays to get McLemore those corner looks, especially with a great passing big like Cousins, McLemore will have to prove he can hit the longer three point shots with much greater consistency.

McLemore will also need to continue to improve on his offensive decision making and his dribbling skills; he finished last season with a 1/1.2 assist to turnover ratio, a very poor number for a two guard. While the Kings offense didn't begin to jell until the latter half of the season, McLemore was one of the players who struggled most to find his role. Cementing that role and cutting down on the bad passes/dribbles will be as big a key for him as finding consistency on his long-ball.

On defense, McLemore mostly needs further experience. His defensive awareness was awful last season, and he struggled to stick to his assignments-he was the biggest reasons the Kings finished with the second-worst three point defense last season. He wasn't a passive defender by any means, but he constantly moved off his mark to provide help defense and lost track of where he was supposed to be.

Moving forward, there isn't any reason to think McLemore can't become a good-to-great NBA defender, given his solid size, and above-average athleticism, but it all comes down to experience. With another season of practice, I expect him to be an average NBA defender by seasons end, as long as he learns to stick closer to great outside shooters.

By all accounts, McLemore is an exceptional worker with a genuine desire to succeed in the league, which are the two best traits for any young NBA player. Yet given how raw McLemore still is, a massive leap forward isn't realistic. McLemore has the talent, physical abilities and drive to be an All-Star level player, but he isn't just one or two skills away from reaching that peak.

His sophomore season with the Kings will be huge for McLemore's development and for his eventual long-term role with the franchise. My expectation is that the inconsistencies will continue into the first half of the season, albeit less frequent than in his rookie year-but by the end of the campaign, I expect McLemore will have shown significant growth and secured himself in the starting role. It won't be the breakout season, but a solid step forward with a growing number of reminders as to why the fanbase was excited about McLemore in the first place.

(Statistics in this article courtesy of basketball-reference.com and nba.com)

For those counting at home, the new arena in downtown Sacramento is 755 days away from opening. The team says the project is on schedule and expects the shell of the arena will be visible by next summer.

We're over a month into the arena demolition in downtown Sacramento and the strip of buildings along L Street, including the Macy's building, has been turned into an expansive plot of rubble and half-standing structures.

Next up will be demolition of buildings along J Street, which was being worked on Saturday.

Demolition of the north side of Downtown Plaza (along 7th Street) will become visible in the next few weeks, according to a Kings spokesperson.

Once demolition is complete (sometime between September and October), the foundation for the arena will be laid. This will involve 24" piles being pushed 55 feet deep into the ground. On top of the piles will be large column bases called "pile caps" and then about a two-foot thick mat slab.

"In very basic terms, we dig the hole for the bowl and place the foundation, the structure is erected and the upper stadia is placed, the lower bowl stadia is then placed and then the roof goes on," said Laura Braden, senior director of communications with the Kings.

The construction team has started the installation of test piles already. During the foundation sequence, the construction team will bring in a couple of larger pile rigs and two large cranes to make the structure go vertical. Steel beams will be in place by February or March and the shell of the arena will begin to take shape next summer.

Braden said there have been no hiccups to date and the project is on schedule, and traffic has not been an issue.

"Traffic mitigation has been smooth and we've had no complaints regarding traffic at the arena site," Braden said. "By removing parking along the arena site on J and L Streets, we were able to keep the same number of lanes open. These lanes remain open today."

The restaurants, shops and movie theater on the west side of Downtown Plaza remain open and will continue to be open throughout construction. When the arena is complete, a plaza will connect those existing businesses to the arena.

Here is a couple of photos from Saturday of the main demolition site along L Street.

A demolition fact sheet and related maps can be found here.

As always, you can send us pictures to be featured on the site at asksactownroyalty@gmail.com. If you are taking pictures, please make sure to be courteous of the workers and do not access restricted parts of the site or interrupt work that is underway.

Eric Moreland's play in Summer League earned him a contract with the big team, but will he actually be able to get on the court?

One of the highlights of Sacramento's summer league team this past July was the play of undrafted rookie Eric Moreland.  Moreland came in and became a defensive anchor as well as a sparkplug by bringing energy and effort to both ends.  The Kings rewarded Moreland's play with a contract, and now he has a chance to showcase his talents on the world's biggest stage.

On paper, Moreland is almost exactly the type of player that we as Kings fans have been clamoring for a while now: a super-athletic shotblocker who doesn't need the ball to be effective.  At Oregon State, Moreland was one of the premier shotblockers and rebounders in the country.  In his 4 years, he averaged a ridiculous 8.3% block rate and a 19.7% total rebounding rate, both elite numbers.  In his 6 games at Summer League, Moreland averaged 2.7 blocks and 8.8 rebounds a game in just 19.2 minutes a game.

Moreland's biggest weakness right now is probably his size.  He's listed at just 6'10 and a very light 224 lbs, which is not good for going up against the size and strength of most NBA big men.  He's also not a great offensive player, although that's not what his role is anyway.  The Kings have plenty of scorers and need the other things that Moreland can bring.

By far the biggest barrier to Moreland playing meaningful minutes for the team this year is simply the amount of depth the Kings already have a Power Forward.  With Reggie Evans, Jason Thompson, and a healthy Carl Landry, Moreland isn't likely to see much time in his rookie year, especially when you factor in the Kings playing smaller at times with Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi or Derrick Williams at PF.

More likely than not, Moreland will end up seeing a lot of time in Reno with the Bighorns to help his development.  The Kings were pretty good about sending Ray McCallum down there last year when minutes weren't available and it seemed to work well, especially during the last part of the season.

We might not see too much of Eric Moreland in his rookie year, but he is a prospect worth keeping an eye on and developing, because he does have the talent and skill to be a very useful roleplayer in the NBA.

Big Shot Rob picked a dominant Lakers playoff team as the best during the 3-peat era.

Robert Horry recently sat down with Time Warner Cable SportsNet to reflect on his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, which included three straight NBA championships. Big Shot Rob went on record to name the 2000-2001 team -- the team that won 11 consecutive playoff games, sweeping three of their four opponents -- as the best of their three championship teams. Here's Horry's explanation:

"The 2001 team was probably the best," Horry said. "We went [15-1], which will never be accomplished again. You should have looked at us after we lost that first game [against the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals], we were so disappointed. We were so hurt that we didn't sweep everybody in the playoffs, because that was our goal."

The full segment can be seen here, and a tip of the hat to the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus for bringing attention to the quote.

Horry's statement begs the question, though. Was the '00-01 team their best group? Here's a look at the advanced stats for all three teams:

The '99-00 team put together the best record along with best net rating per 100 possessions through the regular season, but didn't have the playoff excellence of the latter two squads. It was also the best defensive Lakers team through the regular season during the three-peat era. The '01-02 team had a monstrous 110.1 offensive rating during the regular season, but the team dropped to 106.9 points per 100 possessions on offense during the playoffs, the lowest mark of the three-year span.

That leaves Horry's pick, the '00-01 Lakers. The 15-1 record during the playoffs, along with insane 13.8 net rating per 100 possessions they notched, make it hard to argue against. It was the worst regular-season team of the three championship teams, but they turned it on in the postseason. The Lakers swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs before losing their opening game against the Philadelphia 76ers. They went on to win the next four games, hoisting their second Larry O'Brien trophies in as many years.

Which was your favorite team of the three-peat era? Vote below and let us know.

Oh. and here's a nice video package highlighting the 2001 NBA Finals for the road:

Slovenia versus Alabama, y'all.

Team USA faces Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup Quarterfinals.  Slovenia, you may recall, is a team nobody can find. Nonetheless they'll attempt to overcome a few Sacramento Kings in DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Team USA has a few other guys you basketball diehards might have heard of, but we don't care about them.

The game tips off at 12pm PT, and can be viewed on ESPN.

Go USA! Go (some) Kings!

The Lakers coaching staff is coming together, but there's still one position open.

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't made an official announcement, but head coach Byron Scott has detailed the coaching staff he will be bringing to the sidelines this season with the Lakers. His coaching staff will include his son Thomas Scott, Larry Lewis, Paul Pressey, Mark Madsen and Jim Eyen, reports the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina. Medina also notes that there is one spot remaining on the bench, and Scott confirmed he has met with Igor Kokoskov, as previously reported:

"I've talked to a couple of guys, one in particular that is from overseas," Scott said. "That is not definitive. But I have met with him."

Thomas Scott's role with the team will be as a player development coach. He previously worked under his father as video coordinator and player development coach with the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers, while also landing assistant coaching positions in the D-league. Lewis will remain on the Lakers' player development staff after being promoted from his role with the D-Fenders last season. Madsen will be promoted up after being named a player development coach last season. Both he and Lewis coached the Lakers' Las Vegas Summer League team.

Pressey previously coached under Scott with the Hornets and Cavaliers. Eyen has 23 years of NBA coaching experience and was an assistant with the Lakers from 1989-1992. He most recently served as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings from 2009-2013.

Scott did not specify if any of the incoming coaches would be his lead assistant, which could mean the last available spot is on hold for a candidate of his choice, or that he hasn't made a decision yet.

Team USA cruised to victory after a slow first half.

Team USA cruised past Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, winning 119-76.  The US followed their trend from most of the tournament, struggling in the first half before pulling away in the second.

Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins also continued their trend of solid all-around play in supporting roles.  Cousins finished with 9 points on four of five shooting from the field, with five rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist.  Gay tallied seven points on just three shots, to go along with four rebounds and two assists.  Kings fans should be encouraged by the way Cousins and Gay have fit into the team model and are putting up well-rounded stat lines, even if the lines aren't gaudy.

Team USA was led by 20 points from Klay Thompson, while Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried both put up double-doubles.  Slovenia was led by Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns, who finished with 14 points.

Team USA advances to the semi-finals, where they'll face Lithuania.  Lithuania is led by Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors and Donatas Motiejunas of the Houston Rockets.

Update: It should be noted that Cousins fouled out of the game.  A less than promising element of today's action.

ESPN's Marc Stein reports the Kings are interested in Goran Dragic's brother.

The Sacramento Kings are among the teams chasing Zoran Dragic, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.

ESPN sources say Phoenix, Indiana and Sacramento are the teams in most serious pursuit of Slovenian guard Zoran Dragic, brother of Goran

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 10, 2014

Zoran is the brother of Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns, and plays with Goran on the Slovenian national team. Kings brass got a close look at Zoran in Tuesday’s game against the United States, as Pete D’Alessandro was reportedly in town for the FIBA World Cup.

Pete D'Alessandro left for Spain yesterday to support DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay in person at FIBA World Cup.

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) September 8, 2014

Zoran finished the game against the US with 11 points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Dragic can play shooting guard or small forward, which would fit the Kings’ stated desire for positionless players. He also continues the trend of the Kings pursuing international talent. The Kings were recently reported to be interested in Dmitry Kulagin, but he decided to remain in Russia on a one-year deal.

After discussing move to the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, guard Dmitry Kulagin is signing a one-year deal in Russia, source tells RealGM.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2014

Among the three teams Stein reported to be interested in Dragic, we have to assume the Kings are in third place. The Pacers and Suns are both better rosters, allowing the opportunity for immediate success. Zoran would presumably favor the Suns, where he could team up with his brother.

A look back at one of the most exciting game sevens in Mavericks history.

There's always a moment when you can pinpoint where exactly you fell in love.

That doesn't just mean falling in love with another person. It could be when you fell in love with a movie, a song, an actor/actress, a dog, a spoon. Whatever floats your boat.

For me, I can remember exactly when I fell in love with basketball. It was the Mavericks' 2002-2003 season. Specifically, the Kings series from that year's playoffs.

It was my first year really diving into sports. During my pudgy elementary school days, I was more interested in Super Nintendo and flipping on Toonami after school than watching guys in shorts throw balls through hoops.

But around by 2002 I was 13 and I started to get obnoxiously tall. Tall enough that whether I liked it or not I was playing basketball and not being SOME SOFT COUCH POTATO. So I begrudgingly played basketball.

When you're a tall, awkward teenager playing basketball for the first time, coaches basically just tell you to stand in the paint and put your hands up. I don't know what it is about youth basketball, but getting your hands up is more important than making sure your shoelaces are tied.

"DAMNIT BOWE GET YOUR HANDS UP. BE READY FOR THE PASS. BLOCK SOME SHOTS." My life revolved around raising my hands for two hours a day. Basketball sucked, I thought.

But that year, my dad managed to get season tickets to the Mavs. I had no idea who the Mavs were, other than a basketball team that played basketball in Dallas. It was so bad that during my first preseason game, I asked my dad who the tall German guy with long, blonde hair was.

Over the course of the season, I started to fall in love with the team and how the played. It was Don Nelson "Nellie ball" at its finest -- run as much as possible and shoot as much as possible. Playing defense wasn't so much about stopping the other team from scoring, it was more "let's get the ball back so we can score again" type deals.

I fell in love with Dirk, Steve and Michael. And also Nick. And yes, to some degree, Raef. It was so much fun to watch. I realized there's way more to basketball than putting your hands up.

So the Kings series was like the pinnacle of my love formation. It was a fantastic series against a great rival. I was there at Game 2, when the Mavs scored ALL THE POINTS in the first half (83 to be exact).

I was in my new, barely lit home, having just moved for the first time in my life, sitting in an empty living room during Game 3. I watched Walt Williams drill some clutch three-pointers in a wild overtime win that left me prancing around the room for hours on end until my parents told me to shut up and go to sleep.

It felt like my heart was in my throat all day in leading up to Game 7. I went with my dad and there was just an uneasiness but excitement in the arena. You have to remember, this was probably the most exciting playoff run the Mavs had been in since 1988. There had been a lot of poopy Mavs basketball between then and these playoffs. The American Airlines Center was just ready to burst. We loved the Mavericks again.

The game somehow lived up to the hype. It was a back-and-forth first half, with the Kings jumping out ahead early before the Mavs rallied to close the half.

You have to realize, that there's a crazy feeling inside a building during a Game 7. The crowd realizes that it's perhaps the last chance to see their team. It's this weird mixture of happiness, excitement and dread.

So in the second half, and the fourth quarter, it was kinda crazy to see that balance of dread and ecstasy go full-tilt to ecstasy. Dirk just kept hitting, and hitting, and hitting. It was kinda of crazy to see how open Dirk was on some of those Nash-Dirk pick and pops.

Then in the middle of the fourth quarter run, Nick Van Exel just decided to top it off with a pull-up three pointer. He hit that shot and I remember just screaming as loud as I could. Just pure happiness.

The Mavs would go on to lose to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, but I feel like that was the year DFW really began to get behind these Mavs. It's when we realized they weren't pushovers and the Mavs were going to be a conference contender for as long as Dirk was around.

It's also when I fell in love with basketball, watching the best game I've ever seen.

We're entering the second season under Michael Malone and the new regime. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay are playing together on Team USA. Will any of this help develop team chemistry?

Team chemistry hasn't been something that has been synonymous with the Sacramento Kings for quite some time. It has been a problem, for the most part, ever since Vlade Divac and Chris Webber walked out of Arco Arena (Sleep Train Arena) for the last time. And while it may have improved slightly last season with the addition of Rudy Gay, there is still much work to be done.

That brings us to today's question: Will team chemistry be better next season?

It ultimately depends on the players on the roster and how well they mesh, but the coaching staff also comes into play. When Keith Smart took over for Paul Westphal in 2012, he made creating "a family" a goal. It didn't take long for players to begin feeling like it was a dysfunctional family.

These days, Michael Malone is in the coaching seat and more and more we are hearing players refer to him as a "players coach." The players seem to appreciate him, often blaming the team's struggles on themselves rather than the coaching staff. So in that sense, Malone could be helping move the needle.

On-the-floor chemistry last season wasn't great and a "lack of trust" has been cited as a problem. But going into the 2014-15 season, many of the players will have a year under their belts with this coaching staff and the entire new regime, and no more relocation distractions/arena uncertainties.

There may be less in-season turnover with the roster as well. At the beginning of the offseason, general manager Pete D'Alessandro said there will be changes to the roster (and there has been), but that it may not be as drastic as it was last year. This may help provide the players with more of a sense of stability.

"I do think there will be more changes, but I also think we are starting to develop kind of a core of guys and we are starting to feel some comfort in some of these guys in their growth and development," D'Alessandro said in April.

One of the guys who has developed is Ray McCallum, the second-year guard and MVP of the Summer League Championship game. McCallum and Ben McLemore now have one full season of NBA experience and a welcome mentor in Rudy Gay. Add Darren Collison to the mix, who appears to be aiming to be a selfless floor general, and maybe the team starts to mesh.

McCallum, in his interview with Sactown Royalty last month, said he thinks the extra year of experience is going to help because, "Last year it was new, new coaches, we had a lot of new things going on; a new system. I think it's just a matter of guys getting chemistry down."

The Summer League championship, while meaningless in the grand scheme of things, may have helped build some chemistry with rookies Nik Stauskas and Eric Moreland, as well as the rest of the roster players who were in Las Vegas.

Two players who were in Las Vegas, but did not play (because they did not need to), were DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. They are the two best players on the roster and their time on Team USA could be the single biggest factor in how well team chemistry develops next season. Cousins is learning how to adjust his game to an international style of play and focusing on defense (although he did foul out of Tuesday's game against Slovenia). Gay also is fitting into the team's approach well and both have accepted their role player designations together on the Team USA squad.

The learning experience and extended playing time Cousins is getting with Gay could pay big dividends when the regular season rolls around.

With all of this said, team chemistry is a fickle thing and not something that can necessarily be measured. But by watching a team play and seeing how they interact with one another you can sort of see how the chemistry is going. Obviously, winning helps quite a bit when it comes to chemistry, but that is a chicken or the egg type of argument - chemistry comes with winning, but you need chemistry to win.

Many of the Kings players are already back in Sacramento working out and training camp begins on Sept. 27.

The process of building a "family" bond continues.

The NBA and the NBDL today released details of the 2014-15 D-League schedule, as well as information on a new structure of divisions within the D-League.

The Bakersfield Jam, the Phoenix Suns single affiliation in the D-League, today released their 2014-15 schedule.

It will be interesting to see how the Suns use the D-League this year. Young Suns players Archie Goodwin, Tyler Ennis and T.J. Warren, none of whom have a solid rotation spot with the big club, will likely spend some time bouncing back and forth with Bakersfield this season. Alex Len is being handed the backup center position and didn't see the Jam last season, so likely won't spend any time down there this year either.

The Suns have the Jam as their solo affiliation, meaning the Suns will be stocking the team with players all season long. Expect camp invitees Casey Prather, Earl Barron and Joe Jackson to be invited to play for the Jam if they don't make the Suns in training camp.

New to the D-League this season is an East-West conferences scheme.  The Jam will compete in the new West Division, which will also feature the Santa Cruz Warriors (the affiliate of Golden State), the Los Angeles D-Fenders (the affiliate of the Lakers), the Reno Bighorns (the affiliate of the Sacramento Kings) and the Idaho Stampede (the affiliate of the Jazz).

The Jam will play 50 games total on the season, with 24 games at home at the Dignity Health Event Center, and 24 games on the road.  Two additional games will be played at the D-League Showcase, in mid-January.

Conspicuously missing from this schedule are any games played at the Rabobank Arena, the larger, more accessible arena in downtown Bakersfield. In the past, the team had played a small number of games at the Rabobank Arena to attract local fans who cannot afford the very costly, very limited seats at the Dignity Health Center.

The team opens up play on November 14th against the Texas Legends, and plays 5 straight home games before heading on the road for back to back games against the Texas Legends on the 28th and 29th.

The team has a fairly easy schedule against the East. They play the Fort Wayne MadAnts, last season's champion, only once, at home, and avoid entirely the Sioux Falls SkyForce, considered one of the better teams last season.

The next major news on the Jam will come at the start of November, when the D-League Annual Draft is likely to occur. As that gets closer, we will provide more information.