30Q: Where are the Small Forwards?

“Can he play small forward?” Unfortunately for the Sacramento Kings roster, the answer for most of the roster is no. Certainly, the Kings will try playing many nontraditional 3s at the 3 spot, and like last year they may find some answers that work. But when Monte McNair spoke to the media last week, he argued the roster had “good balance” – “I look at our roster and I see a lot of versatility, guys that can slide, slide up, slide down, and really give us different looks.” It’s true that the Kings guard lineup looks versatile, and the roster has a ton of big men for Luke Walton to work with. But the lack of traditional small forwards, arguably the most important and versatile position in the modern game, leaves a ton to be desired for a playoff hopeful squad, and limits their ability to truly “slide up and slide down.”

The Kings have starter Harrison Barnes – who spent more time at the 4 spot last year, according to Cleaning the Class – along with veteran Moe Harkless and Louis King. Harkless’ defensive intensity and toughness was a welcome addition last year, and Louis King shined enough potential in Las Vegas to warrant some real optimism headed into training camp (I captain the Lo King bandwagon)… but that’s it for 6’6-6’9 dudes with the speed to guard other traditional forwards. You could argue Robert Woodard II could play the 3 spot, but until Woodard proves that terrible Summer League stint was a fever dream, he doesn’t seem likely to deserve any minutes.

Much could be made about my use of “traditional” when talking about lineups, as the Kings may have plenty of potential with their hopeful three guard lineups. But while it’ll be interesting to see Tyrese Haliburton or Davion Mitchell play up on defense (and less interesting to see Buddy Hield do it again), the hypothetical of that lineup isn’t backed up by the option to do a ton else. Last season, Luke Walton’s closing three-guard lineup of De’Aaron, Tyrese, Hield, Barnes, and Richaun Holmes was celebrated because it put the Kings best five players on the court – and while that lineup was promising, I’d argue it was one born out of necessity, the best of what the Kings roster had to offer. The Kings went all in one three-guard lineups when they drafted Davion Mitchell. And 4 months later, a whole offseason gone by, the only additional forward McNair has brought in is… Emanuel Terry, on a training camp contract?

Indeed, of the 18 players that McNair has drafted or signed (to non-training camp or non-10 day contracts) since taking over this roster last year, only 5 are traditionally sized enough to play the small forward spot – Woodard, Harkless, King (a two-way contract), Glenn Robinson (gone midseason last year), and DaQuan Jeffries (gone midseason).

And while sticking positions may not matter as much anymore, it’s a sad fact that Kings have decently less depth at small forward-sized dudes, or dudes who can guard traditionally sized small forwards, than all but one of the Western Conference playoff teams last year. The Suns had Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Cam Johnson. Utah had Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Royce O’Neal. The Lakers’ most used lineup was LeBron, two bigs, and two guards, but LeBron is a cheat code (plus they had Kyle Kuzma, as well as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who would absolutely be a small forward in Sacramento). Outside of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers had Nicolas Batum and Marcus Morris. The Mavericks had Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway, Josh Richardson, and Josh Green. The Nuggets had Michael Porter, Will Barton, and PJ Dozier, and added Aaron Gordon (who, like Barnes, can play either spot) midseason. The Grizzlies had Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, and Justise Winslow. Honestly, the only Western Conference playoff squad with arguably similar forward depth last year was the Trail Blazers, and they had Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. Does a Barnes, Harkless, and King lineup have an advantage against any of those 3-man rotations?

Given the demand for strong forwards across the league, it’s true that adding small forward depth isn’t easy. But as McNair heads into his second full year on the job, the results will have to speak for themselves. At arguable the most important and versatile position in the modern game, the Kings are definitely lacking, and are a Moe Harkless injury – or basketball gods forgive, a Harrison Barnes injury – away from being in real trouble. The versatility of the Kings guards may hint at playoff hopes, and the big man rotation is deep in terms of both bodies and question marks – but the Kings are truly gambling with their lack of forward depth, and they’re leaving it up to Luke Walton to produce a winning hand.