New Kings coach wants Cousins to be an improved passer

New Kings coach Mike Malone says of his offense what every coach says about their offense in the off-season — he wants to run. He wants to defend and be up tempo in transition. That may be true, but it’s pretty much like everyone running for president in the last 30 years saying they want to end politics as usual in Washington — it’s a nice sentiment that doesn’t really lead to much in action.

In a lengthy interview with the Sacramento Bee, Malone then says when the offense slows down some he would like to run it through DeMarcus Cousins in the post more often. Good strategy, but Malone is setting the bar higher for his potential star.

I’ve talked about DeMarcus a lot, but he’s so talented. He’s a big who can play away from the basket. But I’m going to ask him to play inside as well this year, be a guy we can run our offense through at times, because he can be such a good passer. The challenge for him is to cut down on those three turnovers a game. The luxury we had last year at Golden State, we had two bigs (David Lee and Andrew Bogut) who were not only good passers but willing passers. My hope is we get to that at some point.

Likely by the time the season starts, or at least before the Kings play their second game, Cousins is going to get a massive extension to his rookie deal. It will be max or close to it as the Kings bet their future on him. How he responds to that — does he show up feeling he needs to show he is worth the money? — will go a long way to saying what kind turnaround Malone will have with the Kings. Cousins is the centerpiece.

Cousins can pass, and if he is a willing and improved passer he can be a guy you run an offense through in the half court. He certainly has the physical tools. The questions are just is he mentally ready and can Malone get him there?