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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.