ESPN's Future Franchise Power Ranking
24. Sacramento Kings | Future Power Rating: 475 PLAYERS 260 (17th) MANAGEMENT 22 (29th) MONEY 93 (17th) MARKET 24 (27th) DRAFT 76 (7th) The Kings don't know whether they're coming or going … literally. Sacramento is trying to fund an arena to keep the team there, but they could easily be in Seattle, Anaheim, Kansas City or someplace else next season. The uncertainty that hangs over the team's future in the city is also likely holding it up from pursuing other moves, such as the long-overdue housecleaning in the front office. We ranked Sacramento's management 29th; while they finally saw fit to remove Paul Westphal as coach, head-scratching moves remain the norm. Sacramento traded down in the draft to acquire John Salmons' deadweight contract, and made Marcus Thornton the latest in a litany of unusually generous contracts for their own players. Moves like these have left the Kings near the bottom of the standings despite a profusion of high lottery picks. There is some talent here, though. Tyreke Evans is a devastating slasher and would likely be even better if they'd give up on making him a point guard, while bruising DeMarcus Cousins needs to mature but certainly has star talent. The cap situation is decent, too. While the Kings have a few bad contracts, one of them can be removed via amnesty to put them well under the cap in any offseason they choose. We're just not sure how much ownership can spend given their financial distress, and that will be the case until the arena issue is resolved and/or the team is sold to somebody with deeper pockets. (Previous rank: 18)

