This Sacramento Kings team is headed for a one-way trip towards the bottom of the NBA standings if this keeps up. On Sunday, the Kings were laughed off their own floor by the surging Minnesota Timberwolves, 144-117, and there seems to be no end in sight to this madness in Sacramento.

The Kings made some tweaks to their starting lineup, like starting Precious Achiuwa in place of Russell Westbrook, but that move is not likely at all to address their defensive woes, and at this point, it might be the best decision for this team to simply cut their losses and tank intentionally.

Even the majority owner of the franchise, Vivek Ranadive, looked like he wanted to gouge his eyes out watching the Kings crumble against the Timberwolves in Golden 1 Center on Sunday.

It's quite perplexing that the Kings would bench one of their more productive players in recent games to bring in Achiuwa just so they could, on paper at least, match up better against a supersized Timberwolves frontcourt.

But this lineup hemorrhaged points anyway, and they did not make up for it in any way on the other end of the court. The Kings rank 27th in defensive rating, and until they learn how to get stops on a more consistent basis, they are going to keep losing like they are at the moment.

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Kings players harp on poor defense following Timberwolves demolition

Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) talks with guard Zach LaVine (8) during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center.
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Kings simply have poor defensive personnel, and it's hard to put up an average defense when most of the team's most-played players are below-average on that end of the floor. Their best perimeter defender, Keon Ellis, is stuck on the bench. Westbrook was relegated to a bench role. Nique Clifford is only starting to get some consistent burn. And this has led to some very poor results.

“We haven't been able to stop the ball. The other teams are getting really easy looks. The defense is spread out,” Zach LaVine said, via James Ham of The Kings Beat. “We're playing a lot in transition. We're not getting a lot done on the offensive end, putting us in some bad defensive positions. It's easier playing with a set defense.”