By the time the regular season finale came, the Kings hung their collective hat on the five-game improvement from the season before.

It was a baby step in the maturing process, as they missed the postseason for a second straight time but feel confident they can be relevant again in the coming seasons. To get there, however, all involved know that the slop must stop.

The Kings were last in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, this from an organization that earned the opposite type of reputation in the winning era that came under Rick Adelman. When Kings coach Reggie Theus met with his staff after the season and in later sessions with team basketball president Geoff Petrie, there was a heavy emphasis on returning to a more fluid and efficient offensive...