It is bizarre to consider that an NBA team could be completely out of the playoff race in mid-November, but that characterization is very real for a handful of teams in the league. Even if all of those squads aren’t necessarily trying to “punt” on the campaign, early season turmoil can ruin big plans if a team falls far enough in the standings, and that is on full display with at least one team even before Thanksgiving arrives.
As usual, we will weigh in on the state of the bottom of the NBA in this space, as everyone else focuses at the top with teams like the Golden State Warriors serving as a completely worthwhile point of attention. This week’s look at the tanking race in the NBA features at least one squad that has real hopes and dreams, but in the same breath, there are teams that knew their fate before the 2015-2016 season even began and pushed future development to the forefront accordingly.
Let’s take a look at the squads and where they stack up at this early date.
#5 – Sacramento Kings
The Kings have won two games in a row… and they still couldn’t escape from the “top” five this week. Sacramento continues to be the picture of dysfunction from an organizational standpoint, and this week’s revelations between Vlade Divac, George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins were just another example of that.
On the floor, Sacramento is now a more respectable 3-7 following the two wins, but with rumors that Cousins could be on the trading block and a roster that still doesn’t make a ton of global sense, it may be tough for the Kings to live up to preseason expectations. To be fair, the Kings are outside of what is a clear foursome of doom, but being at five on this list is never a good thing.
Next: Pelicans and Nets