Is my second beloved city, Sacramento, (I'm a Warrior and Bay Area lifer) about to go through another year of dismal basketball? Considering what's going on these days in the King's front office, the question has to be asked. And answered.
I'm wondering now, why did Ranadive hire George Karl in the first place? He went against the wishes of his GM at that time, Pete D'Alessandro. Pete knew that George, a tough minded, no nonsense coach, would have a hard time pampering DeMarcus Cousins. Karl, when coaching the Nuggets, despised Carmelo and couldn't stomach Javale McGee.
So, now, will the owner give Karl the freedom to coach or is Sacramento going to have to suffer the firing and hiring of yet another coach? Calipari? Not a chance, he's already nixed that possibility. His mother didn't raise a foolish child. Malone? Sorry, the Nuggets snagged him.The irony, of course, is that Vivak Ranadive had the right coach from the start.
Is it possible the team is poised to trade DeMarcus? Cousin's is upset that Coach Karl might have shopped him. Years and years ago in a league far away I learned that if Wilt Chamberlain could be traded, any player in the NBA could. Get over yourself, Cuz. Lose a little weight, get ready to run and play some hoops. And George, you might want to adjust the run and gun a bit to accommodate Cousin's inside game, especially with the addition of the long and lean defender Cauly Stein playing along Cousins and filling the lane on the break. Stein runs like a deer. He also, along with Cousins, gives you a defensive wall teams are going to have a tough time penetrating. Rudy at the three again, where he belongs. Not bad. Jason Thompson off the bench. I can live with that.
You have a point guard in Darren Colleson, remember. Not superb, but adequate for the time being. Ty Lawson would be an upgrade, and Colleson could be back up, where he's really been successful. I can live with that. But Please, please, no Rondo. Not another headcase, star-struck-on-himself type of player. One is enough.
So there it is: a little give and take, a little of this and a little of that, and voila, Ranadive, you got yourself a team. Maybe? If your ego doesn't get in the way. And if Divac has any smarts. So far the jury is out on both subjects.
If this can't happen, the only alternative is to trade Cousins. Willy Cauley-Stein at the five? A gamble, but possible. He could turn into a Tyson Chandler type center, and Tyson helped to win a championship with the Mavs. What could you get in return for Cousins, who appears to be, in my mind, a perennial headache, and not worth the amount of aspirins needed to put up with him? Kings, you'll never know 'till you test the waters. This blogger is hoping that you're doing it as I type this blog. I am aware of Cousin's talent, but I've never been a fan of his as an all around player and team mate. There's just too much "I" in his personality.
Now that the NBA is over, baseball season has arrived. Here's a wonderful little poem about the National ex-pasttime.
The Extra-Inning Ballgame by Halvard Johnson
Wanting things to go on forever,
yet craving the apocalypse.
Reading the last few pages at one word a minute.
Wanting to teeter forever at the brink of the abyss,
and loving every minute of it.
The solid single lased over second.
A shortstop's arm, just long enough to catch it.
