For the first time in what feels like forever, there is legitimate optimism and unabated excitement over this season’s Sacramento Kings. For one, they stayed.
I wish I were more excited about the basketball moves that the Kings made over the offseason, but make no mistake about it; Sacramento had a better offseason than any other NBA city.
It wasn’t easy. A lot of very smart people put a lot of time and energy (and funds) into keeping this team out of Seattle.
From Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and his staff to multiple grassroots efforts from guys like Carmichael Dave, Mike Tavares and Crown Downtown, Blake Ellington and the “Here We Stay” movement (and many others), it took this perfect storm of support to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
And of course, none of this would have been possible if it weren’t for the new Kings ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive and Mark Mastrov.
This is a different team with different people in charge, and they are going to be in Sacramento for a long, long time. Without further ado, here are five things to watch for this season.
1. Momentum. The Kings have it. The current roster is average at best. I don’t think anyone views the Kings as a threat in the Western Conference or a potential playoff team. The one thing the Kings do have that you really can’t quantify or even analyze is momentum. Since Ranadive took over as owner, they have led the NBA in new season ticket sales. The local excitement is there.
Despite what you may have heard, the Kings will not be a player in the Andrew Wiggins tanklapalooza. Not on purpose, anyway. This team is going to try to win as many games as it can.
Actually winning those games is another question entirely – particularly for a team that has not won more than 28 games in any of the last five seasons – but the Kings are in no position to tank. If they can harness the incredible momentum this city and this team has going into the season, they could surprise a few people.
2. Out with the old, in with the new. An organization that was once led by the Maloof family, Geoff Petrie and Keith Smart is now in the hands of Ranadive, GM Pete D’Alessandro, and coach Mike Malone. Thus far, I would say the new regime is off to a somewhat shaky start with plenty of time to improve.
I am lukewarm on the Carl Landry signing. I thought bringing in Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was a nice move. Taking control of the Reno Bighorns was an exciting development. Then there was the strange offer to Andre Iguodala that they reportedly pulled off the table about 24 hours later. I’m sure they would agree that situation could have been handled better.
The one move that really could come back to bite the Kings was allowing Tyreke Evans to leave via restricted 
free agency to the New Orleans Pelicans. I don’t think we have seen the best Evans has to offer, and I blame the old front office and coaching staff for that. Evans had a sneaky good 2012-13 season, shooting a career-high 47.8 percent on a career-low 11.8 shots per game. He was being more selective. He made real progress as a jump shooter. He was finally improving as a player.
(RELATED: OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TYREKE EVANS)
To D’Alessandro’s credit, he eventually completed a sign-and-trade for Evans that landed a pass-first point guard in Greivis Vasquez, something the Kings haven’t had in quite some time. Vasquez was a good get, but he isn’t Evans. If Evans develops into the player I think he can be, this is a move D’Alessandro will surely regret. Time will tell.