I'm pretty sure I've been hearing "purgatory" a lot more than "hell" in how people talk about things. But in any case, I think the data here seem to indicate that the around-.500 records (which you seem to be focusing on) are really not any worse place to be than most other places. Sure, it's not as good as an above .600 record, but it's really no worse than having a bad record.The Kings are not in NBA purgatory, they are in NBA hell.
Pretty sure purgatory means you are making the playoffs as a 7/8 seed some years, not constantly missing the playoffs.