NBA News: George Karl Still Has Not Set Starting Line-Up For The Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings want to make a splash in the upcoming 2015-2016 NBA Season but head coach George Karl admitted that has not yet set the starting line-up for the team and might be going with a “rotating” starting five throughout the season.

“There might be a rotating starting lineup,” Karl said to the Sacramento Bee. “Right now it seems that these guys -- I don’t know if they’re satisfied rotating it -- but they don’t let it bother them. And if I decide to pull this guy and play this guy, they all seem to be very, very ready.”

Karl’s pronouncement may serve as a challenge to the other role players in his team, particularly those who play the shooting guard and center spots. Battling for the starting slots are Kosta Koufus, Willie Cauley-Stein and Quincy Acy for the center position and Ben McLemore, Marco Belinelli and James Anderson for the shooting guard position.

Assured of starting are the team’s leaders in DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo. Cousins and Gay led the team in scoring at 24.1 and 21.1 points per game, respectively last season while Rondo was previously a shoo-in starter with his previous teams, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Cousins is also the team’s leading rebounder (12.7 rebounds per game) and defensive player (1.5 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game).

Earlier in the offseason, there were rumors that Karl and his star players, particular Cousins and Rondo, had some run-ins and that could affect the Kings’ campaign for the upcoming season. The rumors are unfounded so far with the Kings going 5-1 in the current preseason. Karl, who is known for his preference for up-tempo teams, is a veteran head coach that saw stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (1984 to 1986), Golden State Warriors (1986 to 1988), Seattle SuperSonics (1992 to 1998), and Denver Nuggets (2005 to 2013).