The makeup of an NBA team takes more than talent. It takes specific ingredients that, when mixed together properly, can create magic. You need a star or even two. You need a rebounder and a super-sub and a wing defender. These are all must-haves if you hope to compete at a higher level. But there is one ingredient that is very difficult to find.
Every good team needs a glue guy. Clearly the Kings lacked that specific player last season or they wouldn’t have taken, to use a Geoff Petrie term, a “philosophical vacation” in the middle of last season.