Sometimes organizations have a plan and it's plain to see. Those are usually the good teams. Other times teams have plans and they're not so easy to figure and sometimes teams are more or less moving ruderless. The Sacramento Kings either have a plan and it's not plain to see or they're lost at sea. Monday, they made a move that shows they have the beginnings of some sort of plan coming together. The Kings decided to extend Head Coach Keith Smart through the 2013-2014 season.
“Keith’s extension gives us the stability we need to continue the development of our team,” Petrie said. “He has the commitment, energy and vision necessary to succeed in building a winning team. We are all looking forward to working with him as we pursue an exciting and productive future.”
Between the threat of moving for the past two seasons and four different head coaches in the last five years, the last thing you think of when you think "Sacramento Kings" is "stability." But keeping Keith Smart around is a step in the right direction for the Kings. Last season, Smart gelled with the team and its incredibly talented and sometimes immature stud center, DeMarcus Cousins. Smart also helped develop Isaiah Thomas, who went from the last pick of the 2011 NBA Draft to being a two time Rookie of the Month. Giving Smart the job security of another year is good for him and his players because Smart now has time to develop this core of players without fearing that a seven game losing streak is going to get him fired. He still could get fired, but the Kings have to pay him for an extra year makes it a lot less likely.
A lack of a stable leader on the bench isn't the Kings' only problem. They still have a bajillion score first, undersized point guards. The one playmaker they have is Tyreke Evans and the high volume of little point guards pushes Evans off the ball and small forward, a position he's not comfortable playing. The Kings still have plenty of things to work out on and off the court, but under Smart they showed improvement last season. That is until they fire him midseason like they have the last couple head coaches.
