5 Things Sacramento Kings Must Do to Get Back into the Playoffs Next Season

It's been a long year for the Sacramento Kings, as a promising young core has found nothing but failure.

While certain players have shined, the team as a unit has faltered. Due to effortless defense and questionable character, the Sacramento Kings have established themselves as one of the league's true disappointments.

Again.

In order to right the ship, there are quite a few changes that need to be made. From playing style to overall comfort, the alterations could take this team far. Playoffs far.

The following slides will give you an idea as to how that can be done. Enjoy.

5. Definitive Positions

So far this season, Tyreke Evans has spent time at the point, 2 and 3.

Marcus Thornton joins him in this confusion, as he's played both the 2 and 3. And then there's John Salmons doing the same. And DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson alternating between the 4 and 5.

Please explain to me how a team is supposed to find their rhythm when they don't even know what position they'll be playing the day after tomorrow.

If the Kings expect to turn things around, they must put financial persuasion aside and define these players' positions. Place either Marcus Thornton or Tyreke Evans as the sixth man, with the other starting at the 2.

Place DeMarcus Cousins, the bigger and more physical player, at the 5. And for the love of God, find a replacement for John Salmons.

4. Any Resemblence of Defense

The Sacramento Kings have had no trouble when it comes to scoring the basketball. Their combination of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, alone, could put up 60-80 points on any given evening. Unfortunately, they haven't done anything to stop their opponents from doing the same thing.

The optimism from ranking seventh in the NBA with an average of 98.5 points per game is crippled by the Kings' placement in terms of scoring defense. By placement, of course, I mean last. Dead last. Worse than the Charlotte Bobcats and Golden State Warriors.

Despite scoring 98.5 points per game, the Kings have a minus-6.1 point differential as they allow 104.6 points per game. If they want to return to playoff form, they must emphasize defense.

3. Low-High

While the Kings have had no shortage of points in 2012, their efficiency in scoring them has been quite lackluster. They rank 26th in the NBA by shooting just 43.5 percent from the floor, as well as 29th by posting going 31.5 percent from distance.

Strangely, they also shoot 19.8 three-pointers per game—14th in the NBA.

So you rank nearly last in terms of three-point shooting, yet you continue to believe it's how you're going to win games? Something isn't right here.

In terms of two-point field goals, the Kings shoot 47.5 percent from the floor. The reason for this is that they're as good as any team at attacking the basket, deploying both Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton for their flashy-but-efficient lay-ins.

They also have a low-post beast named DeMarcus Cousins who averages 18.0 points and a league-high 4.1 offensive rebounds per game. That's tied with Kevin Love for average but 31 higher in totals.

So why aren't you starting down low and working your way out to the perimeter?

2. Stick with Isaiah Thomas

He may not be the biggest dog in the fight, but if we're talking heart, he runs laps around the rest of the Sacramento Kings. His effort and never-say-die attitude is evidence of such, as the rest of the Kings' unit gives up at first sight of a deficit.

Beyond the effort is the quality of play, which Thomas has kept at a very high level throughout the season. Despite failing to find consistent playing time, as Keith Smart alters he and Jimmer Fredette's minutes on a nightly basis, Thomas has maintained a respectable Player Efficiency Rating of 17.56. That's second on the team to DeMarcus Cousins and third amongst all Rookies.

While Jimmer Fredette was selected with the higher draft pick, and in turn, receives more money, it's Thomas who most positively influences this team.

Don't give up on him.

1. Decide Upon a Destination

You know how analysts always talk about how big of a distraction it is when a player is outspoken or indecisive? It's a lot worse when it's the executives who are doing it to you.

Where the Kings play in the future goes beyond a simple relocation and heartfelt pain for the fans. It's a need for players to pick up and move their home, thus relocating their families and beginning a new life. When it's put into perspective in that way, it's hard to imagine a player's head being clear when there is an uncertainty of what's to come next in his life.

Whether it's Sacramento or elsewhere, make a decision. Let these players dedicate themselves to a franchise that has finally found stability.