DeMarcus Cousins will start for the Sacramento Kings when they open up their season on Oct. 28 against the Los Angeles Clippers, that much is certain. As for who will be starting alongside him in the frontcourt, that is still a question mark for Kings head coach George Karl. The good news for Karl is that he has some solid options to choose from this season, but based on his comments it seems as though Kosta Koufos is the favorite for the starting role.
Koufos is in no way a lock to start, as he will be competing with Willie Cauley-Stein and possibly Rudy Gay for the other starting frontcourt job, but Karl seems to like the way Koufos plays, according to James Ham of CSN Bay Area.
"We have different looks, we have different types of big men," said Karl. "Willie's a young athletic big man. We've got Kosta who's a banger and my specific kind of big man. I think we have different looks. I think it's going to be good in the end. Kosta played pretty well. He's a better player than he was when I had him in Denver. My gut says I thought he played well with Cuz."
Koufos has the advantage of having already played for Karl in Denver in 2011-12. Gay is going to be in the starting lineup regardless of which position he plays, but Karl said that he wants to play him at the four more this season and will have to decide whether starting Gay at the four is the best lineup. If Gay were to start, Cousins would be the center, while if Koufos or Cauley-Stein started, Cousins would be the starting power forward.
Cauley-Stein is a rookie who was selected sixth overall by the Kings in this past draft. The former Kentucky Wildcat is expected to be a major presence on the defensive end of the floor at the NBA level by using his athleticism to block shots, but he is also very limited offensively.
Koufos is a little bit more polished on the offensive end and has improved a lot since coming to the NBA, but his numbers don't prove that because he hasn't gotten many minutes. Koufos also happens to be no slouch on the defensive side of the ball, as he has had at least 3.3 defensive win shares every season since 2012.
Koufos is now entering his eighth season in the NBA, and because of that experience and his more polished offensive game he seems to be a more likely option to start than Cauley-Stein, at least at the beginning of the season. Karl could also decide to start small with Gay at the four, but right now it sounds like he is impressed with Koufos and is leaning towards starting him at center.
