The players who remain from last season, which featured three coaches and shifts in the front office, are ready to move on and believe the team's current situation will allow them to do so. Getting away to San Diego for training camp, participating in firefighter training and the rest of the team bonding exercises in recent weeks has been a good start.

"I would say yes, I mean, it took a lot to get here, but I'm glad we're in this spot now so I'm excited for the future," Cousins said.

"I think everybody has, especially this year we're going to have coach Karl for a whole year this year and I think everybody is focused and locked in, and on the same page because we have a talented team, not just a talented team, but a great team," McLemore said. "We have a lot of different type of experienced guys, vet guys that have been through the playoffs, won championship games and stuff like that so I think this year is going to be a standout season for us to show and prove to everybody what the Kings can do and bring the Kings back on the map."

Pride in Sacramento and the push to put the Kings on the map drives forward Omri Casspi. It wasn't a guarantee that Casspi would be returning to the Kings this season, despite the fact he expressed interest in staying. Casspi admittedly works from his heart and he has a soft spot for the city that drafted him so he was happy to sign a two-year, $6 million deal with the Kings this summer. Throughout the coaching carousel of last season, he remained a strong voice of reason in the locker room. The candid Casspi has confidence in the changes the Kings have made and the future of the franchise.

"I think we have guys that signed for long-term, we have coaching in place, a great coach in Karl and have guys … at the right time to really take it to the next level and it's about time," Casspi said. "So I feel like I'm pretty confident our team is very stable now and we're going the right direction."

The direction of a team begins at the top and Divac appears to have smoothed things over there. If Karl and Cousins continue to work on their relationship, the holes that were filled in the roster this offseason should result in more wins and more importantly, a better state of mind for the players on the floor. Having so many players who weren't around for the Michael Malone-Tyrone Corbin-George Karl transition shouldn't hurt either.