The Sacramento Kings are mired in a nine-year playoff drought. But James Ham, Kings Insider for Comcast SportsNet, brings preseason cheer in the form of his optimistic outlook. He believes there is a bigger-than-expected opening for a team like the Kings to sneak into one of the West’s final three playoff spots. He acknowledges the potential for combustibility, while praising the team’s myriad offseason acquisitions around DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Particularly, James shares his enthusiasm for rookie big man Willie Cauley-Stein and what he can do to improve a previously miserable defensive squad. Also, the Rondo enigma is further explored. *From this point forward, each interview episode will be titled the week number followed by “a,” whereas each banter episode will be considered the “b” show for the week. Thus, this second interview show will be 2a. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices