Let's pour one out for the Sacramento Kings' annual failed pursuit of a playoff berth they had no business pursuing in the first place, shall we? - In furtherance of the post-DeMarcus Cousins era, the Kings spent the offseason neither chasing wins nor attempting to monopolize the NBA's race to the bottom. Instead, they signed a couple of shrewd veterans in Vince Carter, George Hill and Zach Randolph to help build up the culture. - We know what you're thinking: LITERALLY WUT, AND WHY, AND WTF, LMAO ROFL LOLOLOLOL. - Get your jokes in now, before it's pointless. Prioritizing environment over a one-year tanking window has its advantages—particularly for a Kings squad that saw its emotional infrastructure crumble despite employing Cousins, one of the 25 best players in the league. - Carter, Hill and Randolph don't add enough wins to the Kings' bottom line for this to be a bad investment. So long as head coach Dave Joerger is prepared to roll first and foremost with the kiddies, these three will play a pivotal role in forging unity amid plenty of losing. (Plus, their contracts aren't long at all.) - Which leads us to a fair question: Is this the plan? - Will the Kings be able to play De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield over Hill in crunch time? Can Joerger guarantee Randolph won't eat into exposure for Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere? Does Bogdan Bogdanovic get more spin than Carter? - To help unpack the mystery that remains these Kings, we turn to NBA Math's own Tom Rende (@Trende19), and his appreciation for all things SKAL. - As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying. - - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices