5-on-5: Should Kings fire George Karl? Trade DeMarcus Cousins?

— -- With the Sacramento Kings in chaos, we're going to our ESPN Insider panel for perspective.

(We were very tempted to go 4-on-5, to honor the pet strategy of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive.)

1. The main problem in Sacramento is ...

Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Everything! I've steadfast held to the belief that the success and shortcomings of franchises in the NBA stem from the leadership in place. Sacramento's leadership -- mostly managing partner Vivek Ranadive -- has been at the least meddlesome and at the most destructive, making franchise-altering decisions based on whimsy and preventing any sort of continuity or consistency to lead anyone (internally or externally) to believe there's merit in waiting for a process to play out. You want to know what the problem is? Look no further than the owner's box.

Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: When an organization is in chaos from top to bottom, you look at the guy in charge. Vivek Ranadive has good intentions, I think, but he has no clue how to run an NBA team.

That might be fine, but he doesn't seem to know how to identify those who  can run a team. Even Michael Jordan had to learn to identify and trust viable basketball executives after he became an owner.

Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: From here, it seems the owner thinks this is fantasy basketball. Ranadive can't cycle through players, coaches and front office people without feeling the repercussions of mistrust, miscommunication and dysfunction.

Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: The inability to stick with any direction long enough to truly evaluate whether it's working or not. The constant changes in terms of front office, coaches and personnel make it difficult to isolate any one particular factor as the biggest problem. What we're seeing from the Kings is the opposite of the process other lottery teams have used to rebuild their rosters.

David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: Equal parts this: an owner who is a bright man but doesn't even have the beginning of an idea of how to form a front office team. Which leads to: a management team led by a man nowhere close to being able to build a roster around their coach's systems. Which leads to: a 60-something coach who lacks the fight and energy to whip his poorly fit team into a cohesive group. And to be fair, a far more energetic and younger George Karl may have had the exact same problem he currently faces.

2. Who will be part of the solution in Sacramento?

? Vivek Ranadive

? Vlade Divac

? George Karl

? DeMarcus Cousins

? None of the above

Elhassan: None of the above. The only possible solution starts at the top and we've established the man at that position doesn't know what he's doing wrong -- and, more damningly, doesn't know what he's doing is wrong.

Doolittle: If the problem begins with Ranadive, then he's got to be part of the solution. And that's got to be soon, as the Kings are running out of time before the opening of their new venue. Cousins has to stay, as well. His talent and production are at levels you just can't replace. My thing with him is his tantrums are rooted in hyper-competitiveness. Somebody should be able to channel that in the right direction.

Haberstroh: DeMarcus Cousins. 20-and-10 guys with his skill set don't come around. That's your franchise right there. During the past 25 years, the only players to match his last season's numbers (24.1/12.7/3.6) are Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. All champs.

Pelton: None of the above. Of those, I'd say Cousins has the best chance. He has top-10 potential that he's realized during extended stretches. The question is whether Cousins can coexist with any coach besides Michael Malone and get the best out of younger teammates in the locker room. Ranadive is part of the problem rather than the solution and we've yet to see Divac and Karl prove that they can solve Sacramento's issues.

Thorpe: If Ranadive is as willing to learn as he is smart, he can help, certainly. Players and coaches get better, so why can't owners? Same goes for Divac. He had no business taking over a team that he initially was supposed to just be an ambassador for. But with enough help, his charisma can be complemented by an understanding of how the team should be run.

For Karl and Cousins, this is murkier. While Karl could be part of the solution if the pieces fit, it's not looking good. And Cousins has the talent but not the emotional IQ.

3. Fact or Fiction: The Kings should fire Karl.

Elhassan: Fiction. Karl is one of nine men to win 1,000 games and has been very successful at every stop, but even a savvy coach like him can't fix the type of systemic issues that plague the Kings. When no level of the organization is on the same page as the other, it doesn't matter if your staff features Gregg Popovich, Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson, nothing is getting done!

Doolittle: Fact: He's one of my favorite coaches ever, and I'd love to see him run another functional team. But if the players won't respond to him and the GM doesn't want him there, what choice is there? If I'm Karl, I put Cousins in charge, show up, keep quiet, collect checks, and bide my time George Costanza-style until I'm set free.

Haberstroh: Fiction. And the same goes for the coach a year ago, Mike Malone. Granted, I'm never one to root for someone to lose his job. But it's too early in the season to write off Karl-Cousins. Just like last season, the record is misleading with Cousins missing games. Don't make the same mistake.

Pelton: Fact. Karl can be an effective coach in the right situation. Sacramento isn't it. The Kings hired Karl under the premise he'd be able to manage Cousins, a dubious proposition given his contentious past history with star players and Cousins' own run-ins with coaches. Now, Karl doesn't appear to be on the same page with either the team's best player or upper management, and ongoing questions about his future aren't conducive to long-term success.

Thorpe: Fiction, as of today. He isn't their biggest issue, and his style is something the Kings' players should be willing to embrace. Management must support him in no uncertain terms. But if they won't, then it's time to make a change.

4. Fact or Fiction: The Kings should trade Cousins.

Elhassan: Fact. I've written about this before and said that, as someone who has been enabled all his life, Cousins needs to land somewhere new where he hears the word "no" on day one. When he gets there, he'll probably reach the potential we all see in him, but that will never happen in Sacramento, where the organization has bent itself out of shape to accommodate him.

Doolittle: Fiction. If you're a Kings fan and really believe Cousins always will undercut any coach's attempt to create a workable team culture, you still don't want to trade Cousins. Not now. That's because the current GM doesn't know what he's doing. I don't think it can be overstated: Divac had basically zero qualifications when he was handed the keys to the team in the most bizarre fashion a GM has ever landed a job.

Haberstroh: Fiction. As I said, he's a perennial MVP candidate. You make it work. Even if you trade for the Celtics' trove of draft picks, you might be trading away a perennial MVP candidate. Unless you get another one in return, it's hard to see that making sense.

Pelton: Fiction. Any offer that's on the table now is probably going to be available to Sacramento next summer, when Cousins will still have two years left on his team-friendly contract extension. And since the Kings foolishly gave the Philadelphia 76ers the option to swap picks the next two years, landing a top lottery pick doesn't help them as much as other teams. So they may as well try to win with Cousins now, I suppose.

Thorpe: Fiction, for now. They should have done so when things were cooled off. Now they have to resurrect his image, again, to get even close to what they need for him to stay even remotely relevant.

5. What is your favorite Cousins trade?

Elhassan: The Celtics are probably the best destination. They have a wealth of assets that would allow them to field a competitive team after the trade (unlike many competing suitors) while also affording Sacramento an opportunity to ship Cousins to the opposite conference.

Doolittle: There aren't many realistic trade scenarios that make sense for me from the Kings' perspective. But if Cousins has to be moved, I'd love to see him in Boston. That roster screams for a focal point and there might be no coach in the league right now -- OK, except maybe Gregg Popovich -- who I'd rather see take a stab at coaching Cousins than Brad Stevens.

Haberstroh: The Celtics' first-rounders make the most sense for the long haul, but I'll give you another one. Who's another possibly disgruntled star who may be looking for a fresh start? Carmelo Anthony. Oh, and he knows George Karl's system. Anthony and a 2018 first-rounder for Cousins and Rajon Rondo. Boogie in the Big Apple.

Pelton: The obvious trade is Cousins for some combination of the three Brooklyn Nets' picks (including a swap) the Boston Celtics own over the next three years, plus David Lee as salary filler. It's obvious for a reason: That trade would give the Celtics the star they covet and the Kings get prime picks to try to find a more stable star as their anchor.

Thorpe: I'd consider a move with the Bulls and Joakim Noah. Cousins needs a bigger market to help humble him, as well as strong egos above him (hello, Reinsdorf and Paxson). Noah is a perfect fit in Karl's system and is the leader this franchise has lacked for more than a decade. The Kings likely could get another player like Tony Snell or a pick or two.