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49ers Nowhere Near Eclipsing NBA Kings’ Level of Dysfunction

By Peter Panacy

Feb 4, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Fans and pundits might think the San Francisco 49ers are a poorly ran franchise. But all one has to do is look a few hours north to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings to see how bad things could be, considering the fallout of the DeMarcus Cousins trade.

Yes, they are two separate sports. But the San Francisco 49ers can easily look at the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and say, “Hey, at least we’re not those guys.”

One could see both the Niners and Kings as California’s two most dysfunctional franchises. San Francisco went from a perennial contender to laughingstock in quick order. The Kings, on the other hand, have proverbially “chased their tails” for the better part of two decades.

And Sacramento, in case you missed it, just traded away its best superstar in DeMarcus Cousins — moving him to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for a bunch of “who’s he” players.

Even NBA2K wouldn’t have accepted the deal, per USA Today Sports:

The Cousins trade was more of a divorce for the Kings than it was a move to actually improve the team. Although one could argue it was a move general manager Vlade Divac should have made two years ago when Cousins’ market commanded a much higher value.

Mar 16, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings former center Vlade Divac speaks with the press after being named Vice President of Basketball and Franchise operations at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings former center Vlade Divac speaks with the press after being named Vice President of Basketball and Franchise operations at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

Sacramento is a laughingstock. And owner Vivek Ranadive surely has to command just as many laughs as 49ers CEO Jed York.

And that’s the line… the comparison between the two, if you will, that separates these two scuffling franchises.

Like the Kings, the Niners are a mess. Only a handful of players on San Francisco’s roster are worth mentioning. The others? Well, rebuilds are as such for a reason.

Heck, At Least the 49ers Aren’t the Kings

OK, Niners fans. Here’s where you can thank your lucky stars and realize San Francisco’s situation could be much, much worse.

Eerily paralleling each other up until the beginning of 2017, both the 49ers and Kings share a disturbing recent history. There have been multiple head coach hirings and firings, controversy within the locker room and a good deal of questions regarding each team’s general manager.

If Divac wasn’t so beloved in Sacramento for his days as a player, he’d likely be just as hated as former Niners GM Trent Baalke.

January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers chief executive officer Jed York (left), Chip Kelly (center), and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) pose for a photo in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers chief executive officer Jed York (left), Chip Kelly (center), and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) pose for a photo in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

But York, somehow, figured it out. He cleaned house. Baalke… gone. Former head coach Chip Kelly… gone. And let’s only hope York realized he — and his pal Paraag Marathe — needed to take a backseat to football ops once head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were installed.

We don’t know whether or not the Kings ownership, primarily Ranadive, played a large role in booting Cousins.

But the resentment fans are feeling towards the Kings owner surely echoes much of what was said about York. Just ask Greg Wissinger of SactownRoyalty.com.

York learned his lesson, let’s hope. Ranadive hasn’t.

The 49ers’ Future Looks Good, While the Kings… Not So Much

San Francisco will enter this offseason with as many as 11 picks in the NFL Draft, including the No. 2 overall selection. And they’ll have nearly $80 million in cap space to both lure in, and overpay if necessary, free-agent targets.

On the flip side, Sacramento gambled its future on Cousins and lost. Turns out, the Philadelphia 76ers are the real winners of the blockbuster trade with New Orleans.

More from Niner Noise

Like the NFL, the NBA Draft is a primary means to rebuild a franchise. Unlike the NFL, the NBA Draft rarely produces pro-caliber talent outside of Round 1. Had the Niners traded off a slew of early round picks, their future would be just as bleak as that of the Kings.

Unlike the Bay Area, Sacramento isn’t exactly a destination for top-tier free agents. And the general mismanagement of the franchise surely will scare away potential suitors and targets.

That’s not the case with the 49ers. At least not with Lynch and Shanahan in the building.

So while Niners fans everywhere can begrudgingly look back at York’s tenure and cringe, at least they can take comfort knowing it could be much, much worse.

Like Kings worse.