The Boogie Watch

[bdm860]

Maybe the curse of Rudy Gay is real.

Kings are 2-2 since he went down, and could very likely be 3-1 if the refs didn't rob them with that phantom Dwyane Wade foul call in Chicago.

Just like how we look at the C's record and think how they could be in 2nd or maybe even 1st place if not for a couple of games they should have won, I can't help but look at the Kings and think the same thing.  If the Kings were 1-3 or 0-4 they'd be in tied for 11th or 12th place out West and only 2 games out of last place instead of in sole possession of 10th and a game and a half out of 8th.

I was told these road games without Rudy Gay were supposed to be losses!

[bdm860]

Here's a pretty long ESPN article about the state of the Kings, thought it was a good read, but probaby sheds a less than favorable light on Cousins, Ranadive, and Divac.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/presents2/is-demarcus-cousins-sacramento-kings-real-problem

Some of the highlights:

On what other teams think of Cousins:

But an asset as valuable as Cousins requires constant due diligence by NBA front offices. One such team meets from time to time to view game film of Cousins, and those watching are tantalized by what they see -- the agility combined with force, the soft touch, the capacity to either bully or dance around any profile of defender, big or small. Yet each time they evaluate whether it's worth mobilizing the organization's assets to make a push to acquire Cousins, they return to the same dilemma.

When this front office breaks down a Cousins game, it invariably finds half a dozen possessions per game when he sabotages the Kings. Sometimes it's not getting back on defense because he has overdramatized a fall on a drive. Sometimes it's an ill-advised shot early in the possession whose only explanation is acting out against a noncall or an incorrect call. Sometimes it's a missed opportunity for a teammate because Cousins has clearly broken off a play.

This team needs no further persuasion on Cousins' skill set. It's reasonably assured he's a good-hearted person who has manageable behavioral issues that fall within the bounds of the normal human experience. But it's not sure it wants to pay the Cousins tax -- that 6 or 7 percent of possessions that not only take a team out of its offensive or defensive rhythm but whose negative outcomes can crush its collective spirit.

One general manager says he wakes up every day hoping one of his rivals trades for Cousins. Another says "No f---ing way" when asked whether he'd ever consider dealing for him.

On Ranadive:

Ranadive, who declined to speak for this story, is said by his critics to be a cloistered thinker, beholden to his own whims. Kings partners are profoundly frustrated with his governance of the basketball side of the team, as has been reported, and amazed that he appears to have been emboldened, rather than humbled, by seeing so many of his decisions fail.

"You would think that after making an ass of yourself, whether it's 4-on-5 or one bad hire after another, that you'd become more collaborative and seek out help," says a well-placed source. "Vivek has done just the opposite. Instead of putting together a brain trust, he's his own brain trust -- he and whoever the last person he talked to is."

A favorite complaint of Ranadive's critics is that the credit for the killer revenue projections rightfully belongs to Chris Granger, the Kings' president and an NBA veteran. "The success on the business side is despite [Ranadive], not because of him," says a league powerbroker with an intimate knowledge of the process in Sacramento.

Then there is the gripe that feels sharper, more personal: that Ranadive is obsessed with his former team, the Warriors. One league source who knows the owner well says Ranadive, who still lives in the Bay Area, has an "unhealthy fixation on the Warriors." Sources close to the Kings partnership say that Ranadive "can't help himself" from claiming credit for innovations in Golden State. Ranadive hired a former Warriors assistant coach (Mike Malone), insisted the team run a Warriors-like offense (despite having few shooters who can fan out to the wings in transition and virtually no frontcourt players who excel in pushing the ball) and, sources say, determined that Malone would have two seasons to make the playoffs. Why two? Because the Warriors' Mark Jackson made the playoffs in that amount of time. Kings business executives use catchphrases, calling the team a "real estate company" or a "technology company," that were popularized in Oakland during Ranadive's time there.

Ranadive lobbied hard to be the controlling governor in Sacramento based on his experience as a Warriors minority partner and his ties to India, a market that's a prime focus of the NBA. There's a running joke in the NBA that the Warriors led Ranadive's Kings campaign as a means of ridding the partnership of its most abrasive owner.

On Divac:

"Nobody in that position has ever been less qualified, less capable or a nicer person," says one league insider.

What they didn't get was someone with his finger on the pulse of the team-building arcana. By way of example, league sources say -- and Divac denies -- that when the Kings and Sixers struck a deal to send Nik Stauskas to Philadelphia, Divac was surprised to learn that the trade had to be confirmed on a conference call with the league. Multiple agents express astonishment at how poorly versed Divac is in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.

And to just further show the ineptitude of the decision making, see this:

Though it proved unnecessary once the Grizzlies let the coach walk, the Kings owner was prepared to offer cash compensation and a draft pick for Joerger, despite the fact that neither Ranadive nor Divac had met Joerger personally.

And this:

One league insider says Ranadive told him some months back that he aspires to assemble a big three in Sacramento, with Russell Westbrook joining Cousins and Rudy Gay. Multiple sources say that Gay, who tore his left Achilles tendon on Jan. 18, has remained with the team rather than being dealt away because Ranadive believes deeply that the small forward would not leave Sacramento; this despite Gay's stated decision -- before his current injury -- to opt out of his contract next summer and his desire to be elsewhere as soon as possible, a sentiment expressed to the organization repeatedly.

I think the entire article was worth a read though.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Here's a pretty long ESPN article about the state of the Kings, thought it was a good read, but probaby sheds a less than favorable light on Cousins, Ranadive, and Divac.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/presents2/is-demarcus-cousins-sacramento-kings-real-problem

Some of the highlights:

On what other teams think of Cousins:

But an asset as valuable as Cousins requires constant due diligence by NBA front offices. One such team meets from time to time to view game film of Cousins, and those watching are tantalized by what they see -- the agility combined with force, the soft touch, the capacity to either bully or dance around any profile of defender, big or small. Yet each time they evaluate whether it's worth mobilizing the organization's assets to make a push to acquire Cousins, they return to the same dilemma.

When this front office breaks down a Cousins game, it invariably finds half a dozen possessions per game when he sabotages the Kings. Sometimes it's not getting back on defense because he has overdramatized a fall on a drive. Sometimes it's an ill-advised shot early in the possession whose only explanation is acting out against a noncall or an incorrect call. Sometimes it's a missed opportunity for a teammate because Cousins has clearly broken off a play.

This team needs no further persuasion on Cousins' skill set. It's reasonably assured he's a good-hearted person who has manageable behavioral issues that fall within the bounds of the normal human experience. But it's not sure it wants to pay the Cousins tax -- that 6 or 7 percent of possessions that not only take a team out of its offensive or defensive rhythm but whose negative outcomes can crush its collective spirit.

One general manager says he wakes up every day hoping one of his rivals trades for Cousins. Another says "No f---ing way" when asked whether he'd ever consider dealing for him.

On Ranadive:

Ranadive, who declined to speak for this story, is said by his critics to be a cloistered thinker, beholden to his own whims. Kings partners are profoundly frustrated with his governance of the basketball side of the team, as has been reported, and amazed that he appears to have been emboldened, rather than humbled, by seeing so many of his decisions fail.

"You would think that after making an ass of yourself, whether it's 4-on-5 or one bad hire after another, that you'd become more collaborative and seek out help," says a well-placed source. "Vivek has done just the opposite. Instead of putting together a brain trust, he's his own brain trust -- he and whoever the last person he talked to is."

A favorite complaint of Ranadive's critics is that the credit for the killer revenue projections rightfully belongs to Chris Granger, the Kings' president and an NBA veteran. "The success on the business side is despite [Ranadive], not because of him," says a league powerbroker with an intimate knowledge of the process in Sacramento.

Then there is the gripe that feels sharper, more personal: that Ranadive is obsessed with his former team, the Warriors. One league source who knows the owner well says Ranadive, who still lives in the Bay Area, has an "unhealthy fixation on the Warriors." Sources close to the Kings partnership say that Ranadive "can't help himself" from claiming credit for innovations in Golden State. Ranadive hired a former Warriors assistant coach (Mike Malone), insisted the team run a Warriors-like offense (despite having few shooters who can fan out to the wings in transition and virtually no frontcourt players who excel in pushing the ball) and, sources say, determined that Malone would have two seasons to make the playoffs. Why two? Because the Warriors' Mark Jackson made the playoffs in that amount of time. Kings business executives use catchphrases, calling the team a "real estate company" or a "technology company," that were popularized in Oakland during Ranadive's time there.

Ranadive lobbied hard to be the controlling governor in Sacramento based on his experience as a Warriors minority partner and his ties to India, a market that's a prime focus of the NBA. There's a running joke in the NBA that the Warriors led Ranadive's Kings campaign as a means of ridding the partnership of its most abrasive owner.

On Divac:

"Nobody in that position has ever been less qualified, less capable or a nicer person," says one league insider.

What they didn't get was someone with his finger on the pulse of the team-building arcana. By way of example, league sources say -- and Divac denies -- that when the Kings and Sixers struck a deal to send Nik Stauskas to Philadelphia, Divac was surprised to learn that the trade had to be confirmed on a conference call with the league. Multiple agents express astonishment at how poorly versed Divac is in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.

And to just further show the ineptitude of the decision making, see this:

Though it proved unnecessary once the Grizzlies let the coach walk, the Kings owner was prepared to offer cash compensation and a draft pick for Joerger, despite the fact that neither Ranadive nor Divac had met Joerger personally.

And this:

One league insider says Ranadive told him some months back that he aspires to assemble a big three in Sacramento, with Russell Westbrook joining Cousins and Rudy Gay. Multiple sources say that Gay, who tore his left Achilles tendon on Jan. 18, has remained with the team rather than being dealt away because Ranadive believes deeply that the small forward would not leave Sacramento; this despite Gay's stated decision -- before his current injury -- to opt out of his contract next summer and his desire to be elsewhere as soon as possible, a sentiment expressed to the organization repeatedly.

I think the entire article was worth a read though.

I was just about to post about this article. 

Here's a passage I find particularly instructive:

Cousins, at the time, was a 23-point, 12-rebound center with a reputation for petulance, playing, perhaps not coincidentally, for his third coach in four seasons. Malone, though, appeared to have located Cousins' escape key. "There were days where we got into it, but I think at the end of the day, he always knew that I cared about him and I loved him," Malone says. "It was never personal. Once you earn his trust, he'll go to war for you. I think pretty early in our relationship I earned his trust."

Trust. Virtually everyone who's had an association with Cousins -- coaches past and present, teammates, Kings execs, his agents, journalists, even nonprofit directors -- calls that the key to unlocking the riddle. Being a member of Cousins' "trust circle," in the words of a former Kings assistant, is the great Rorschach test that determines how you see Cousins -- as a manifold, deeply emotional, bighearted man full of contradictions or a volatile, needlessly aggressive bully who is accountable to no one or nothing -- not even his immeasurable talent.

Malone, now the coach of the Nuggets, declares himself squarely in the first camp. "I think he's very coachable, and I loved my time with him," Malone says. "I always wonder what might have happened."

What actually happened was this: In fall 2014, the Kings started the season 9-6, with Cousins playing the best basketball of his life -- tallying career highs in points and rebounds and a phenomenal net rating of plus-14 for the month of November. For the first time since Cousins was drafted, Malone and his staff were beginning to believe that a sense of order had been established. Cousins still required maintenance, but the cues were now mutually recognized. Malone was a red-assed tyrant, but Cousins says he loved how Malone's anger was always situational, never personal. "Mike was real," Cousins says. "Mike held everyone accountable, most of all himself. That's all that matters. That's all it's about."

If the Kings were enjoying a newfound sense of progress and morale, though, word of that apparently never filtered up the chain of command to majority owner Vivek Ranadive, who among other desires was determined to see his team play at a faster pace. (Worth noting: It was also during this time that Ranadive wanted Sacramento to experiment with playing 4-on-5 defense, leaving one King on the other end to cherry-pick for baskets.) According to sources, ownership felt Malone was being obstinate about his conviction that the Kings needed to adopt a style more oriented to the half court.

Then in late November, Cousins fell victim to viral meningitis, which coincided with the team's losing eight of 10 games. In mid-December, sources say, Cousins was on his way to a "Santa Cuz" gift giveaway at a Wal-Mart near Sleep Train Arena when he was asked to drop by the executive offices. The team wanted him to discuss an urgent matter with Ranadive and the Kings' GM at the time, Pete D'Alessandro. Those with knowledge of the conversation say Cousins was told by Ranadive that the Kings would win substantially more games with assistant coach Tyrone Corbin at the helm. Cousins replied by asking the owner, in somewhat colorful profanity, if he had taken leave of his sanity. When he then asked the brain trust about the timetable for its verdict on Malone, he was told the decision had already been made. Sources say Cousins then responded by asking why he'd been diverted from a charity event for a matter that had clearly been resolved without his input.

So, the Cliff Notes version: Cousins is note a hopeless malcontent. The Kings had something that was working, and their foolish owner acted foolishly.

[bdm860]

So, the Cliff Notes version: Cousins is note a hopeless malcontent. The Kings had something that was working, and their foolish owner acted foolishly.

I don't know, while I think the article tried to more neutral on Cousins (as opposed to Ranadive or Divac),  it definitely didn't do him any favors.

There was the story of him refusing to run sprints in practice, cussing out the coaches and throwing his teammates under the bus during a film session, cussing out Bennett Salvatore during a referee presentation before the season had even started (the fact that NBA teams and the officials even have that meeting is something new I learned, which I also thought was interesting).

[Phantom255x]

Kings lost to the Pacers 115-111

Cousins had 26 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists

[Roy H.]

Boogie cleared of all charges in the NYC nightclub incident.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18586503/demarcus-cousins-prosecuted-nightclub-incident

[jpotter33]

I've kind of given up on the Boogie pursuit. They're keeping their head above water at the moment in the playoff race, and while I still don't think they ultimately make the playoffs and could very well lose their pick to the Bulls, I still expect them to offer him that super max extension this summer, which is almost impossible for him to turn down.

[Monkhouse]

Oh well..

There's always next year...

 

I've kind of given up on the Boogie pursuit. They're keeping their head above water at the moment in the playoff race, and while I still don't think they ultimately make the playoffs and could very well lose their pick to the Bulls, I still expect them to offer him that super max extension this summer, which is almost impossible for him to turn down.

[Phantom255x]

Well Boogie has 10 points and the Kings are down 19 to the Rockets..

But yeah at this point even I've given up on the slim hopes of a Boogie deal this season.

Now its Butler or Carmelo or Noel or Vucevic or nothing (likely nothing tbh except maybe Nurkic or Bogut for cheap).

[jpotter33]

Should be noted that I posted that post before today's report that the Kings have actually had discussions about Cousins.

[Phantom255x]

Should be noted that I posted that post before today's report that the Kings have actually had discussions about Cousins.

It's okay we're all dysfunctional about the situation just like the Kings Front Office.

[saltlover]

Cousins has a triple double (22/12/11) so far, but the Kings and Suns are in a one possession game late in the 4th.

[jpotter33]

Booker won it on a junk bank shot at the buzzer!! Lol

Great, disheartening loss for the Boogie Watch! Next up, Golden State tomorrow for another butt whooping.

[saltlover]

Booker won it on a junk bank shot at the buzzer!! Lol

Come to Boston, Boogie.

[jpotter33]

They're now 3.5 games out of the 8th spot, and they're tied with NO and Minny for the 11th-13th spot in the West. They're closer to the last spot in the West than they are to a playoff spot, and it will only get worse before the deadline.

Come to Boston, Boogie!