SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for December: 23. Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings Overall Win/Loss Record (as of December 31st): 11-19 ,  fourth place Pacific Division	Last Month 27	This Month: 23
Team Statistics and League Rank (as of December 31st): Points Scored: 96.8 (15th) Points Allowed: 101.8 (27th) Team FG%: .439 (20th) Opponent’s FG%: .455 (21st) Rebounds per game: 40.5 (24th) Opponents rebounds per game: 44.3 (26th) Turnovers per game: 14.5 (11th) Opponents turnovers per game: 14.7 (14th)	Individual Statistical Leaders (as of December 31st): Scoring (ppg): DeMarcus Cousins (16.3) Rebounds per game:  DeMarcus Cousins (9.5) Minutes per game: Tyreke Evans (30.9) Assists per game: John Salmons (3.3) Field Goal Percentage: Jason Thompson (.511) Steals per game: DeMarcus Cousins (1.5) Blocked Shots per game: Jason Thompson (1.1)
Worst Player of the Month:  DeMarcus Cousins It is pretty bad when the team’s leader tweets that he no longer has the will to play and has lost all his confidence in his game; unfortunately, however, Demarcus Cousins’ recent comments essentially reflect the current mood on this Sacramento Kings organization from top to bottom.  No one cares whether they win or lose and almost every person in organization would rather be somewhere else whether it is meant to be figuratively or literally.  For his own personal health and well being, Cousins should demand for a trade because it is otherwise a toxic situation for him if he stays in Sacramento.  The team is going nowhere and Demarcus Cousin’s  talents and abilities will remain wasted if he is forced to languish in this raw sewage waste dump of an NBA franchise.  Over the last three years, Cousins has already proven that he does not have the goods or the maturity to have a franchise built around him—both parties should see this and finally make the move to sever this dysfunctional relationship before it gets to point where there is no turning back.	First Player of the Month: Jimmer Freddette It is quite sad when the only player that is worth talking about only plays less than 14 minutes per game because unlike his teammates, Jimmer Freddette actually plays like he gives a damn.  In the few minutes that coach Keith Smart gives him, Jimmer has utilized every opportunity and has brought a positive impact on his team with his amazingly efficient and disciplined play.  It is quite remarkable considering the fact he came from an environment where everything and everybody revolved around him when he played college ball at BYU.  It just goes to show that there is more to Jimmer Fredette than the ball dominating, shot hungry ball hog that many have unfairly portrayed him to be.  If he can shine a light on this poor excuse of an NBA franchise in the short time that he is on the court, then Keith Smart would be wise to let that light grow instead of stifling it in a corner.
Analysis: Joe and Gavin Maloof should be BANNED from ever owning an NBA franchise after what they have done, or have not done, to the Sacramento Kings.  What was once a proud franchise that was followed by a small, but even prouder fan base has become a virtual laughing stock as the Maloofs have chosen to tank and devalue the team to justify themselves to move to another city.  Despite the efforts of city's mayor, former NBA player Kevin Johnson fighting and pleading to keep the Kings in Sacramento along with hardened cries of fans who outwardly show how devoted they are, they have all fallen on deaf ears. Over the past few years, the Maloofs have purposely gone out of their way to purposely self destruct the team along with the morale of its host city.  It is an absolute crime to inflict such a horrid act to a fan base that has supported a team though good times and bad, historically MOSTLY BAD, for three decades. What is worse is that unlike most NBA teams that move because of the economic reasons, it is not the case in terms of the Maloofs and the Sacramento Kings.  Although it is in a rather small market which limits its exposure, the Sacramento Kings have always been a profitable venture for the past thirty years as they always ranked among the top teams in the NBA in arena attendance, through much of its history.  In fact, one can also point out that their small market status did not impact the team when they attained NBA greats such as Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and Peja Stojakovic and was capable to garner worldwide attention during the "glory years" of the late 1990s and early 2000s.  While most NBA franchises have to worry about outside factors such as the "luxury tax" and other financial speed bumps, the Maloofs are essentially insulated from that as they have the resources to cover any such costs while keeping the team competitive. Similar to the big market owners such as Jerry Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks and James Dolan of the New York Knicks, the Maloofs have a humungous war chest and are more than able to cover ANY luxury tax penalties that they may incur.  If it is not from the billions that they had made in their internet ventures, it is from the possibly hundreds of billions in revenue that they continue to receive from their Los Vegas casino operations.  Unlike what the "poor us, we do not have the money to keep the Kings in Sacramento . . ." image they have portrayed, the Maloofs have more than enough resources to keep the Kings in Sacramento, possibly even more than some of the richest owners in the richest markets in the NBA.  Out of all their combined assets in their entire portfolio, the Sacramento Kings is just a tiny sliver of all the revenue streams that the Maloofs currently possess.   So all the talk about them not being able to survive in small market is and be able to compete in the NBA complete bull**** because they have proven that they could do it before--they simply just want to get out of Sacramento at any cost and ironically it will probably cost them more leaving the city that actual remaining there. For starters, the Maloof's public image has all been shot--once all the dust settles and what little left of the Kings has been removed, no city or professional sports league in its right mind will have anything to do with the Maloofs.  They can forget about owning ANY professional sport franchise or having ANY stakes in professional sports, period, because no league will want what has happened to Sacramento to happen to the their cities and franchises.  It is more than certain that Commissioner David Stern has already silently devised a plan to ensure that neither Joe or Gavin Maloof will ever be able to do business with the NBA ever again.  As it stands now, the Sacramento Kings are being avoided like the Plague with no one even wanting to involve themselves in this entire sordid affair and  all the money in the world will not buy back the credibility that the both Maloof brothers have lost in this whole fiasco. As for their team that they have been running into ground, the Sacramento Kings have continued their march to futility as they remain as a bottom feeder of the Western Conference and the league.  They did manage to start December on a positive note winning three of their first four games, but that quickly went downhill as they dropped five in a row losing rather embarrassingly by an average margin of 16.4 points.  The Kings did manage to bounce back, however, and finish 2012 on a positive note by winning four of their last six games, but it really does not matter.  The Kings are simply "dead men walking," heading for the "Green Mile" to their inevitable execution for a crime that the franchise's owners have continued to commit.  Hopefully, the Maloofs will just do everyone involved in this fiasco a favor and just sell the team and cut all their ties to the NBA, because it has been long enough and the fans in Sacramento deserve better that what they have gotten thus far.