Well, there are days, and then there are days.

This trade is probably stupid, but it might not be. It might make sense. Certainly, if you are a Maloof then it makes sense. For the rest of us? This is going to take some time.

This is Patrick Patterson. A quality inside/outside hybrid F who is much more offensively inclined than defensively inclined.

So, while I don't think Patrick Patterson is a terrible player, I wouldn't have traded Thomas Robinson to get Patterson in return either. Especially to save several million dollars. But this is life in the Maloof world, and well we got another whiff of it yet again.

I want to be outraged, but I'm not. I'm really not. So with that, have a good night and don't do anything you regret.

There are times, and places, and things, and all that goody goody bullshit, where having really wealthy people on your side matters. Keeping the Kings in Sacramento is obviously one of those times.

Sam Amick, of USA Today vintage, writes this:

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, 24-Hour Fitness Founder Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle - who is part owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins - are in serious talks to collaborate on a bid to buy the Kings. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks. The fact that the two men are willing to join forces is seen as significant by Sacramento supporters. There are five potential owners currently in play, but Mastrov and Burkle are seen as the heaviest hitters among that group.

The Maloofs and the NBA have made their announcement. Whoopty fucking doo. Does it change anything? Not especially, no. 

First, are the Maloofs the Captain's of SS Lord Douchebag? You  bet. Today's announcement changes nothing. It's still in the hands of the BoG (the fact that the Maloofs never entertained outside buyers is not surprising to anyone) which is where it's been since last April. 

Do I think the Kings are gone to Seattle? I think the likelihood is higher because typically the BoG has owners that do not want to block the sale of someone else in case they themselves get in a hairy situation down the line. 

On the other hand, the league is stuck with a difficult case of two markets that have a strong history of support, one with a bit higher TV market (which is being somewhat exaggerated by some like JA Adande).  David Aldridge is saying the Maloof Family didn't have a vendetta but nobody stepped up to buy the team. ( Cough Cough Bullshit Cough Cough.) Matt Steinmetz reported that the Maloofs tried to shop the deal to Larry Ellison, but that Ellison said no. 

Here's the bottom line: The league would benefit from both cities. Sacramento benefits more, just as Seattle benefits  more in all honesty, from the Kings staying in Sac and Seattle getting an expansion team in 2014. But do the owners see that right now? Maybe, maybe not. 

My main takeaways today are: The Maloofs are going to sell. Which means if the NBA did want to screw them over here, much  like the Maloofs did to the NBA and Sacramento last April, now would be the time. If David Stern wanted to make sure expansion is very much on the table, is there a better way to do it than this? I'm guessing probably  not.

Sonics fans don't really benefit from stealing the Kings, and Kings fans don't benefit from having an expansion team to reboot their love affair. It just doesn't help either side as much, and expansion for Sacramento makes a lot less sense than expansion for Seattle. With Seattle, it makes sense because they are a larger market.

That's rationalizing. Whatever the owners think is best for their franchise values is how they will likely vote unless Stern and/or Kevin Johnson and/or unnamed person has something up their sleeve. If nothing else, I'd say it's a 100% guarantee Seattle has a team. The question is how at this juncture.

The Maloofs are done as NBA owners forever. That's the good news for all concerned. Their worthless asses are out. The question is does the BoG see what's really going on, and do they care? Or as I wrote on Twitter last night, #MalooferyBeGone.

That's been the 525 million question for going on a year, and nothing about today's dual announcement changes that.

Oh, and one other thing program wise: The games still matter to me which is what I will focus on from here on out. Including today's game against the New Orleans Hornets on MLK day which starts in 20 minutes as I type these very words.

Go Sacramento Kings!!!!

UPDATE: In case you have not read it, read this piece by Tom Ziller today up at the SBN NBA page. It explains a lot about how crummy and worthless the Maloofs are.

Numbers are deceptive. Sometimes numbers are not deceptive. Tonight, there are some really big deal type numbers, and well there are also some numbers that are probably not as big of a deal as they look like.

First, look at minutes. 83: The combined amount of minutes DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans were on the floor tonight (Cousins had 43 of those).

62: Points in the paint the Kings scored. 46: Points in the paint the Wizards scored.

68%: The Kings DRB% tonight, and on the season it's at 68.6% (which is dead last). The Kings are also dead last at DRtg at 111.4 points per 100 possessions (which is what O and D Rtg's are). 

15: The amount of shot attempts John Salmons took. Another number: 9. The amount of shots John Salmons hit tonight. 2: The amount of 3's Salmons hit.

21: The minutes Jimmer Fredette played in the 2nd half.

22: The amount of wins the Kings could have at home on the season. 7: The wins on the road the Kings could have based on current win rates.

Okay, after the jump my expanded thoughts on the game..

I'm not the first (and probably won't be the last), and I'll bet this gets ignored too. Just the way it is in life I suppose. But I have thoughts about Seattle and this whole bit of "Don't hate us".  Sorry Adam Brown and Jason Reid, I empathasize with your plight. I know what it's like to live in a city without a NBA team. I moved up there right as the Sonics were shifting to leave under Clay Bennett's lying ass. (About the only thing I disagree with Bennett on even though I understand Bennett would have never gotten his dream of a team in OKC either without doing so.) I watched Sonicsgate and found it insightful and a strong point. 

First thought is really a very condensed version of how I will later pontificate on: Fuck you.

I don't really care whether Seattle fans want us to hate them, but the truth is, I don't care about their plight at all in this. I don't want to be one of them, and even living in Seattle for 5 years has especially intensified that. My sporting experiences come from being a Kings fan, and to a significantly lesser degree an Oakland A's fan. I'm not part of Oakland; Oakland isn't my hometown. I just happened to like the A's because of Rickey Henderson way back when. For some strange reason, I'm still a fan, but I do not hold unconditional love. I do not care whether they leave Oakland or stay. I could care less if the franchise moved to the Moon or San Jose. Makes no difference to me. It doesn't actually effect my plight at as a fan. (Now those who are living in Oakland? That's a different story. Not sure I agree with it, but that's a different matter.) That does not apply to the Kings. The Kings staying in Sacramento matters a whole hell of a lot.

No, I will not be a fan of the "new" Seattle Sonics if they do indeed move. I'll just flip Puget Sound the bird for taking my team and move on. I'll despise the Maloofs forever (as Sonics fans do with Howard Schultz) regardless of whom they decide to sell to (the Maloofs want the team moved the team to Seattle just to spite Sacramento because they can no longer own the Kings and there is no question in my mind of that).

There is only one question and one question remaining: Is there a bid strong enough to get the NBA to override a very possible move to Seattle? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. That end of the story has not been written yet.

Today, after Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said Phoenix and Memphis were involved in trade talks with Rudy Gay, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal followed up with saying the Kings had inquired about Gay, too.

Why? Seriously. Gay is a volume shooter who is decent in some ways, and is what he is. 

Why do the Kings need Gay? Because he fills the hole at SF?

Why? No, seriously, why?

Let that sink in for a moment.

Well it's been awhile since I compared Boogie Cuz to Marvin from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (and I'm right dammit!), but well, apparently DeMarcus Cousins got the message about what passing actually means from the right spots on the floor. It's amazing (and depressing) that the best passer on this team is Cousins who also leads the team in Field Goal attempts (not a strength).

When your Center took 17 shot attempts (some of which were tips which is okay with me given how Cousins rebounds) and only  makes 7, I can live with it. Some of the misses were makeable and in time I think Cousins can get more efficient. But overall, the fact that there was 17 shot attempts taken with a modicum of control behind them is new. This is new news. In fact, this Cousins, the 1st half Cousins against Cleveland especially, is an All-Star no question. That Cousins changes the game for teammates, and that Cousins is finally walking the walk rather than just simply mouthing off about it. It's amazing how often that Cousins mouthing off is all there to it and ends up being the case. Since Cousins has come back against New York, there has been assists totals of 5, 10, 2 and tonight was 6. In 23 games prior to the latest blowup against Keith Smart, Cousins had a total of 48 assists in 23 games for a paltry sum of just under 2.1 assists a game. In the 4 games since returning we are talking 21 assists in 4 games for 5.25 assists a night. Rather large difference yeah?

I'll lay this on the table right here and now. I don't think Cousins is going to be traded, and I don't think the Maloofs will accept anything less than a Dwight Howard level player in return. Since that won't happen in this lifetime, Cousins is likely staying. If this Cousins we have seen in the previous 4 games shows up, this Cousins can help the Kings win a lot more "alleviating some of the stress" all the losing has caused him.

This DeMarcus Cousins is a 20-14-5 guy, and that is worth a whole lot in this league. I hope DeMarcus keeps that in mind moving forward, but given his history it's hard not to expect a blowup of epic porportions too. If Boogie keeps it under control for the rest of the season, one would be hard pressed to say the Kings MUST blow it all up. 

In fact, once Evans returns hopefully 100% healthy and ready to go, the only question left is can Cousins and Evans take this team to the level that both talent's promise they are capable of. Both complement each other in real ways, but if they don't work together moving forward this team is sunk. It's interesting if both can sacrifice the necessary things to create the necessary things in other ways for both themselves and teammates moving forward. It's often been speculated that what this Kings team needs is a pure PG, but that's pure horseshit. What this team needs is for Evans to embrace his being the best talent and player and perform with play to match. What Cousins needs to do is facilitate the offense more and stop trying to be the 25 point a night guy he has seemingly wanted to be since enterting the league. A facilitating big man, especially when you lack a pure facilitator in your G corps, is especially useful to have. Which makes the recent stretch of play by Cousins so incredibly important.

All that's left, and has been for quite awhile, is whether Evans and Cousins both have the will and commitment to make this thing work.

In case the title didn't give it away, you can probably tell that I'm filled to the brim with overreaching pride that DeMarcus Cousins can now return to the court to complain about foul calls, pick up technical fouls, argue with everyone on planet Earth and probably all the characters from "A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", and kill a teddy bear in a fit of rage. Oh and jack 25 shots up in 20 minutes, and grab 10 boards that make his numbers look good but do jack shit in an actual game. You know, that goody goody gumdrops kinda bullshit that DeMarcus Cousins is so famously for. If I didn't know any better, I'd compare Boogie to a wax apple. The problem is that when you bite into the wax apple, it tastes like shit because, after all, it tastes like wax. The only problem is that Boogie is anything but an inaminate object (although I wish he could imitate it for long stretches of his life--like everytime he walks into the public spotlight for starters).

(Side Note: Doesn't Marvin from "Hitchhikers" and Cousins look very similar? I mean really.....look at this:

Amirite or amirite?)

So yeah, the big jackass of douchebag shot jackery is back. Yippee fucking skippee kiddies.

(Yes, I mostly posted this just to compare Marvin to Boogie.)

On a serious note, Merry Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza/Festivus/NBAXmasday or whatever you celebrate this time of year.

My headline is serious. I'll leave this simple as I dont' really care that DeMarcus Cousins is not on the court. This is a guy averaging 16.5 points, 9.5 boards, 41.4% from the field shooting wise, and is one of the reasons the Kings are a terrible defensive team.

Is Keith Smart or Geoff Petrie to blame? Both have their faults, and I'd fire Petrie now. I'd fire Smart if the right change came along assuming there was actual ownership in place to make a change that would make a difference. Read the official teams statement here.

Cousins' poor behavior is on one person: DeMarcus Cousins alone. It is his responsibility to behave appropriately, and no-one elses. Terrible dysfunctional franchise or no, that is the reality. This is DeMarcus Cousins' fault for being inappropriate, and like at many times, in a way that is not conducive to being a professional basketball player in the NBA.

So the Kings are going to get worse even though they are already one of the worse teams with DeMarcus Cousins much of the time? Just because you have talent doesn't mean you get to be an asshole punk kid.

To be honest, I'm pretty excited to see how Thomas Robinson and Jason Thompson play together and I think T-Rob might be able to use this moment to catapult himself into the rotation on a serious basis as opposed to a minute here minute there basis. That would be a change.

I'm over DeMarcus Cousins. You want to talk drama? Go elsewhere. I'm over that shit. Let's talk about a basketball team than histrionics that doesn't mean jack diddly squat let alone produce anything of real value. I haven't been this interested in the season since the beginning of the season that started in Chicago. I'm serious: I really wanna see a JT-T-Rob starting front line to see how it works out. Anything else will be disappointing I suppose. (It's not about Chuck Hayes: I just wanna see T-Rob be him for a change. It hasn't felt like him for awhile.)

Anyway, that's what I got. Peace.

Here's a newsflash: The Kings aren't very good. Why? Their pieces are still mis-matched, their pieces still don't work except on paper and in the land of misfit toys, Keith Smart doesn't really seemingly get the most out of his pieces when they are going well, and well it's hard to figure out exactly what pieces are going well in all reality, and oh yeah the chemistry sucks too. Shitty owners, shitty GM, a seemingly shitty coach, a shitty rotation littered with landmines at every turn. 

But what this franchise needs is more patience, right?