Sacramento KingsThe outlook for the Sacramento Kings since the end of last season has gotten bleaker. As far as developing a talented young core to get them to the playoffs the Kings took a few steps back.

The Kings probably have more new faces than they should since they failed to sign anyone considered as a potential franchise player that could help turn around the fortunes of the club, which has failed to make the playoffs for 10 straight seasons.

Center DeMarcus Cousins is the most skilled player the Kings own as he has developed into one of the best at his position, the problem is that the team has failed to surround him with quality players capable of helping him to take the team back to the postseason.

With Cousins becoming a free agent in two years, the Kings are running out of time to deliver some quality players.

Cousins, who made the all-star game for the second straight year last season, has yet to start in a playoff game and if that doesn’t change he could very well choose to leave Sacramento to try his luck with another franchise. He would be a perfect fit for teams that are a solid center away from contending for the title.

Matt Barnes (from Memphis), Ty Lawson(from Indiana) and Arron Affalo (from New York) are some of the players that arrived to the Kings to help; however none of them could be considered an impact player.

To make matters worse small forward Rudy Gay, a key piece of this muddled puzzle, has already expressed he will probably leave as a free agent in 2017; prompting speculation that he may be traded during or even before the season starts as the Kings try to get something in return for the skilled player.

Due to all these pressing issues, the likelihood of the Kings making the playoffs is minimal. They will probably miss them for an 11 straight season and will win more about 30 games to finish between the 11th and 13th place in the Western Conference.