The Kings Herald Staff gathers once more to go over Sacramento’s most successful season in well over a decade and where to go from here.
Q: And so it ends, the Kings have fallen to the Golden State Warriors in Game 7. What was the biggest factor that caused Sacramento’s downfall in this series?
Akis: I owe Kevon Looney a massive apology. In our first roundtable, I called Domantas Sabonis our biggest advantage over the Warriors. Clearly, I didn’t respect Kevon Looney enough, as he absolutely dominated the Kings on the glass in this series and flustered Domantas Sabonis game after game. Stephen Curry was his usual amazing self, but if the Kings had just figured a way to keep Looney in check and not allow the Warriors so many extra chances, they would have won this series in less than 7 games. Even in Game 7, the Kings had control of the game in the first half, but then that third quarter happened, spurred by the Warriors grabbing 13 offensive rebounds in that quarter alone. Looney had 7 of them by himself. The Warriors as a team averaged just 10.5 offensive rebounds a game in the regular season, and here they are getting more than that in one quarter of a closeout game. Just unacceptable rebounding and effort by the Kings in keeping the Warriors off the glass, but huge credit to Kevon Looney as well.
Rob H.: Multiple factors. First and foremost, when one of the GOATS is determined to hang 50 on you, you better hold everyone else down and take care of your own business. And that’s kind of how the first half worked. But then Kevon Looney happened in the third quarter. Add to that the Kings leaving about twenty easy points at the arc and the line, and there you have it, the intersection of what could have been and what went down.
Tim: As is the case with most highly competitive playoff series, the issues for both teams changed from night to night, but Sacramento’s biggest, most consistent weakness was their outside shooting. After knocking down 37% of their long-balls in the regular season, good enough for ninth in the league, the Kings hit just 30% of their attempts against the Warriors, ranking 15th of the 16 contenders. De’Aaron Fox leading the team in three-point takes and makes wasn’t what Mike Brown needed from his role players, especially when his rookie was the only other player knocking down shots from beyond the arc. Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes, two “snipers” who have been in plenty of playoff games, combined to miss 36 of their 46 catch-and-shoot three-point attempts. There’s your series.
Tony: I thought the Warriors exposed every concern you could possibly have about this roster. Defensive issues? Check. Rebounding? Check. Inexperience? Check.
On the bright side, what Monte McNair needs to address this summer could not be more clear. The Kings have holes. They had a tremendous season, but we knew about these issues all year, and they were unfortunately loudly exposed on the biggest stage.
Greg: Defensive adjustments. Credit where credit is due, the Warriors designed a really effective defensive scheme in this series. Looney sagged off Sabonis, daring him to shoot, and Sabonis couldn’t make him pay for it. The Warriors, through a few different methods, were also hugely successful in throwing off the flow of the Kings DHO offense. The Kings offense was fluid and dynamic all year, but was reliant of a few key concepts. The Warriors disrupted those concepts and the Kings couldn’t adapt.
Q: What was the biggest difference in playoff basketball compared to the regular season?
Akis: The physicality is definitely on another level, and the Kings definitely felt it. In the regular season, the Kings were one of the better foul drawing teams in the league, but they were definitely not getting the same type of calls that they were used to. Some guys were able to adjust and others weren’t. It’s a learning process but hopefully one that they’ll take to heart next time they’re in that situation.
Rob: Everything is amplified. The exposure is greater, the fans are louder, the possessions are more important, the reactions are more pronounced, the tension never takes a break. I was hoping that the team would meet the moment (they did), but I tip my hat to the in-house crowd for being up to the task of full-game, full-throat rooting, even after the final game was determined.
Tim: The intensity is at an entirely new level. Every missed shot by the opponent feels like a huge opportunity, while every surrendered offensive rebound is crushing. It was incredibly stressful and fun to have some real personal stakes in the postseason for once.
Tony: Adjustments. The Sacramento Kings caught a lot of teams off-guard in the regular season, and it’s a lot more difficult to pick at weaknesses when you’re playing different teams every other night.
The Warriors came into the series with a great game plan for several players, most notably Domantas Sabonis. We’ve seen teams give Sabonis space to shoot all year, but the Warriors took it to an entirely new level, and he struggled for a majority of those 7 games. And after the Warriors took games 3, 4, and 5, it took Mike Brown going extremely small to catch the Warriors off-guard and steal Game 6. The impact coaching, coverages, and rotations can have on a close 7-game series is massive.
Greg: Just the difference in effort and execution. Teams don’t go all-out every game in the regular season, especially not a veteran team like Golden State. Facing an opponent with that much talent when they are giving maximum effort every matchup is a totally different experience, and should be a good learning opportunity for the Kings.
Q: Have your thoughts changed on any Kings players because of this playoff series?
Akis: De’Aaron Fox is THAT dude. I think he lived up to the playoff billing and I suspect things may have played out a little differently if he didn’t suffer a broken finger in Game 4. He wasn’t able to have the same touch he usually does down the stretch of the final three games, but before then he was basically unstoppable.
I also loved how much Malik Monk seemed to thrive in the moment. Yes, there was still a little bit of out of control play at times, but for the most part he was consistent and made the right decision. Aside from Fox, he was the only Kings player who was consistently able to make the Warriors pay all series.
I also think Davion Mitchell elevated himself in my mind after a mixed regular season. Mitchell is built for the playoffs, and I thought he did an admirable job on Stephen Curry and probably should have been played more in Game 7. He just needs to work on developing a more consistent shot and if he does that, it will be hard to keep him off the floor.
On the flipside, there were definitely guys that struggled but I’m not super disappointed in them. Domantas Sabonis definitely didn’t have the best series, but he was also such a huge focus of Golden State’s gameplan. I expect he’ll use this experience to get better so it doesn’t happen again. Kevin Huerter also hit one of his worst cold streaks at an inopportune time, but he’s shown before he can be a big playoff contributor in Atlanta. Harrison Barnes is probably the player I was most disappointed with in this series. Before the series, I would have said the Kings should definitely look to retain him, as he was such a big part of this team both on and off the court this year. But against the Warriors he looked lost and didn’t provide the kind of veteran presence we were hoping for. I still think it makes sense to bring him back, but I wouldn’t exactly break the bank and his position is probably one of the few that makes sense for us to try to upgrade.
Rob: I’ve been leaning a little that Keegan Murray makes Harrison Barnes slightly redundant. Now that this roster has experienced the playoffs, I’d take Barnes’ salary and invest it in more length at the three and four. Barnes’ durability will be missed, but Fox and Sabonis need to be the locker room leaders for this team moving forward. Good King, that Harrison Barnes, but the roster needs what he cannot provide.
Murray and Davion Mitchell flashed enough to have me very enthused for their 2023-24 seasons. Kevin Huerter is 24 and I don’t think he’s done growing as a player.
Tim: De’Aaron Fox answered all of the questions surrounding his play since he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings. After last season, a year in which he disengaged on defense and simply didn’t look like himself, Fox shouldered this team’s burdens night after night after night. He was a tenacious defender, a fourth quarter stud, and a quiet leader who refused to let his squad die, no matter the score. The 2023 playoffs were a coming out party for Fox’s stardom, and his star power will only grow brighter from here. I’m convinced that a fully healthy De’Aaron pushes this team to the second round.
On a not-so-positive note, I’m incredibly disappointed in Harrison Barnes. He was invisible when the Kings needed their veterans the most, and Mike Brown justifiably benched him for most of games six and seven, in which Barnes combined to score 10 points. In the final game of the season, a must-win battle against the league’s defending champions, and with the team struggling to finish defensive possessions by clearing the glass, Harrison failed to grab a rebound. In fact, only Davion Mitchell snagged fewer boards than Barnes in the series, a wildly disappointing stat for a starting power forward. Tack on the inability to convert open three-pointers, and I honestly don’t know if I want him back on the team next year. That response may feel like an overreaction, but if the Kings now consider themselves to be a potential contender, they can’t spend big money on guys who are going to disappear in the big moments. A sign-and-trade is perhaps the best option for all parties involved.
Tony: My thoughts have changed on several players, and I’ve got to take the next few months to digest how much of those new thoughts are fair vs. recency bias. TBD.
The take I’m most confident in is that De’Aaron Fox is the guy. Beyond how good he was on the court this season, I loved everything he had to say coming out of losses, coming out of the season, going into playoff games, etc. He’s really starting to come into his own as a leader. I’m so confident that I believe Fox alone has reached the level of a player who can get you to the play-in nearly by himself every year, and now it’s just a matter of Monte getting him players he can succeed in the playoffs with.
Greg: Two player really elevated themselves in my eyes. De’Aaron Fox stepped into the spotlight and showed that he is a star in this league. His play in the first four games was unreal. He was still good even after suffering the finger injury, but it was clearly an issue and I was impressed he was playing through it. But those first four games were transcendent.
The second player is Keegan Murray. After a slow start (understandable for a rookie), Keegan found his feet and was playing some excellent basketball. He still would disappear for stretches even after a strong start, but his potential is through the roof.
Q: What do the Kings need to do this offseason to come back better prepared for next season?
Akis: This Kings team has a good foundation to build on and I don’t think there needs to be a ton of major changes. I would love to see some more athleticism and size on the wings and in the starting lineup. With Domantas Sabonis as your center, rim protection is always going to be an issue, so having wings and length that can hopefully prevent too much paint penetration would be ideal. Sacramento will also probably need to shore up the backup 5 position, as Mike Brown struggled to come up with a solution there even into the playoffs.
Rob H: Noted above, more length on the wings. I know that there will be a lot of big swing talk (OG, John Collins), but I think the roster changes will be closer to the margins than the core. Maybe Barnes goes, maybe Vezenkov comes, and hopefully the Kings add some length.
Tim: Not to repeat everything Akis and Rob just said, but better wing talent would have carried the Kings to the second round. Between their starting and backup forwards, Sacramento needs to prioritize some combination of shooting, perimeter defense, and rim protection. We know Keegan Murray can shoot, and I think his defense will continue to improve, but there needs to be a more palatable option between Murray and Sabonis defensively. Outside of wings, Monte McNair also needs to find an option at backup center, although Trey Lyles is perhaps the solution in small-ball situations. As much as I pined for Mason Plumlee at the trade deadline, I might prefer for the Kings to target a vertical, down-hill pick-and-roll threat to pair with Malik Monk off of the bench. If Mike Brown had had that sort of player to employ (thanks a lot, Richaun), the Kings might have been able to break apart Golden State’s sagging defense against Domantas Sabonis and the shooters.
Tony: I think it’s time to break up the Sabonis – Barnes – Murray frontline. There just isn’t enough defense and rebounding out of that trio. Barnes feels like the obvious odd-man-out here, but his unrestricted free agency situation is tricky for the Kings. If he’d be willing to come off the bench in favor of a better role defender and rebounder, great, but I’m not so sure he’s ready to take that step.
I do hope they aggressively pursue getting better instead of running it back with largely the same roster. This team is close. They should know what they need by now. Let’s get it done.
Greg: Not sure about specific players, but this team needs someone who can guard bigger wings, and needs to have an answer for the backup center position. Those are the two biggest opportunities. I can’t wait to see what the front office does this summer.
Q: Any final thoughts on the season as a whole now that it’s over?
Akis: Before this season, I had never attended a Kings playoff game in my life. This last month, I got to go to three, including a Game 7 in Sacramento against the defending champs. This has been an incredible season and even though I left the arena on Sunday disappointed, I wasn’t dejected or depressed. I’ve experienced those feelings plenty as a Kings fan, but not this year. This has been a season of renewed hope and passion, and I’m feeling hope more than anything else. This Kings team is further along than I ever expected, and I fully expect them to take the lessons and sting of defeat to heart and come back better than ever. I’m proud of this team and can’t wait until that purple beam shines bright in the Sacramento night sky once more.
Rob H: This is where I hoped we would be by the end of NEXT year. The team blew the doors off of my expectations, and I am reticent to overreact to one series and specific matchup challenges. I’m more inclined to look at the macro, and what I see through that lens is an offensive juggernaut that is still a work in progress on the defensive end. I think we’re looking at a fifty+ win team next year, injuries notwithstanding. And they will not be playoff virgins next year.
Thank you, Sacramento Kings. Playoff basketball > ping pong balls. What a fun, compelling team. Wearing my Kings jacket today, proudly.
Tim: Expectations are such a funny concept, aren’t they? At the start of the year, I had this squad penciled into the play-in tournament with around 40 wins. They won 48, took the defending champs to seven games, and showed that they’re the real deal. And yet, I’m a little disappointed. I guess as the season went along, and as this team continued to prove itself, my expectations grew alongside their results. And now, expectations are even higher next season. I can’t wait to Light the Beam again.
Tony: I guess I’ll just take this time to shower everyone with thanks. I’ve been critical of Monte McNair in the past, but he has successfully turned this franchise around, and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you. Mike Brown has been an incredible leader for this locker room all year. Thank you. Vivek has seemingly stayed out of the way. Thank you. The players… what a likeable roster of players. It was a joy watching this team play. Thank you. And to the community of Kings fans here and elsewhere, you deserved this run. It’s been a pleasure talking Kings with all of you this season. Onward and upward, Light the Beam.
Greg: This has been the most fun I’ve ever had covering the Kings. Winning more games than you lose is fun, it turns out. The ending wasn’t ideal, but I consider it a win that we’re breaking down how we lost a 7-game series in heartbreaking and entertaining fashion. I can’t wait to watch where this team goes next.
Thank you all for being on this journey with us.
Thanks for reliably interesting, well-written content.
That was a fun season. Great job TKH crew for covering it!
Bye season:
Thanks again, TKH.
I’m not sure if people are done with the Domas bashing, but if they aren’t, I want you all to have a look at Looney’s offensive rebounds in game 7:
Video and Shotcharts | Stats | NBA.com
So of 10 offensive rebounds, Domas is helping to guard other players on 6 of these plays. Of the 4 remaining rebounds, 2 you can definately blame on Domas. The other 2, I am not that sure.
We need to get better defensively at the point of attack. When your big has to constantly leave his man to cover for defensive mistakes of others, you’re putting a lot of pressure on him physically, emotionally and from a foul issue perspective. The Warriors exploited that weakness and somehow people decided that Domas ended up looking bad (“whoa, Sabonis gave up 10 offensive rebounds to Looney“), not the defenders who lost their guy and let them get to the paint unoposed.
That is a difficult thing to fix for Monte and Brown.
By the way, I thought that Fox raised his game defensively in the playoffs.
Far from perfect, and a low bar, but encouraging nontheless.
Agreed.
Lots of good things to say about the season and opportunities to get better, but this is why TD over Davion made no sense after trying it for a quarter in Game 7. Kings might have lost anyway, but I would really, really like to know, while Davion was guarding Curry vs other Kings players vs other NBA players:
How many times Curry gave up the ball, his shooting percentages, shots taken, fouls drawn, stopped his dribble, time of possession, how may times he switched to another defender.
Maybe I’m biased or wrong, but I think Davion gave Curry fits, as much as anyone could or has, and many of the numbers I noted above would probably be startling in their differences between Davion and other players.
Like Rik said, those plays where Domas was out of position were defensive breakdowns, and Davion can’t hold up the whole defense by himself, but Curry creates far, far fewer defensive breakdowns for himself and other players with Davion on the floor.
The Warriors and Steph figured out Davion Mitchell’s defense in the first quarter of game five. – last 3 minutes of 1Q of G5 and first minute of second quarter. Steph broke DM’s defense. It happens that way. Because he’s Steph.
Disagree. There were very few times Curry beat Davion on defense, and even if they “broke” his defense, whatever the Kings thought they were doing on Curry in Game 7 couldn’t have been worse. TD, not for lack of effort, got scorched on almost every possession.
Maybe if the Kings don’t run the Warriors off the court in game 6, Mike Brown doesn’t go away from DM on Curry. But he panicked. Though he could do it again in game 7. He thought he finally had the answer to knocking off the undefeated Kerr Warriors in the Western Conference.
Agreed, don’t think they figured Davion out, Coach just didn’t put him on Curry in the last game.
Let’s be real about game 7, Domas sucked and Coach Brown got outcoached.
Yes, and Huerter was terrible, Barnes didn’t contribute, the defense was bad, and so on. This kind of playoff loss sort of seems inevitable for teams, but I believed that the Kings could have won. Lessons learned all the way around, and hopefully a better outcome next year.
I think you have to give the analytics guys credit for the game 6 strategy. Coach Brown said it was their suggestion which he listened to. In chess that gets a (!). And it was reasonable to start game 7 with more of that strategy. However, it became obvious very quick in game 7 that the Warriors had adjusted and it was no longer working. To continue in the 2nd half with that strategy, not playing Davion, gets a (?) designation. Not not have Davion guard Steph for even one minute in the game gets a (??) designation in chess. To start Davion in the 3rd quarter would have been the (!) move. And in hindsight, a possible (!?) move would have been to start Kessler Edwards in the 3rd, and then bring in Davion.
Thanks for this Rik. It’s not like Sabonis was just some lazy ass out there simply being outworked by Looney. He can’t be the only one rebounding out there, especially if he’s consistently having to help on D.
Thanks for doing this.
Bravo! 👏🏻 . 💯 agree so let’s convince Memphis that they don’t need JJJ…
wiggens would also be an amazing exchange for Barnes.. I always want what’s not available
in all sincerity I hope we keep Edwards and he develops, perhaps pick up a PJ Washington or Grant Williams. Josh Hart would look good on this team playing the small forward; he is a good defender and very Good rebounder. Keegan can play some more four. Not sure that Christian wood could play in a team environment. I just can’t get a read on him. Anyways, the future is bright.
Too bad, Siakam wasn’t available he would be awesome for this team, then grab Jacob Poeltl as your back up center
Thanks TKH! One of my fave memories from being at Game 5 was spying who had their TKH Beam Team jerseys out. I counted six of us that night.
I have really enjoyed these roundtable articles. Very entertaining.
This is me at a birthday party 10 years from now, suddenly remembering Barnes missed an open look that would have given the Kings a 3-1 series lead.
If HB had just made that shot and even without a single other contribution we’d be saying pay the man. Lol
I’m not sure – I sure would be saying APPRECIATE the man.
For me, Sabonis / Barnes / Murray is kind of wonky front line defensively. As I noted, the emergence of Murray has kind of made Barnes at least somewhat obsolete, at least as a starter.
Would he be amenable to a bench role? If so, he’d be a nice piece if the price was right. But I’m not sure that he is there yet, and he doesn’t have to be. His next contract will be his last $$$ contract, so he has to make the most of it.
I thought that Barnes got a good look at that last shot and it didn’t miss by much. Can’t really ask for more than that, so it doesn’t factor into my thought process. He’s just an odd fit with Sabonis and Murray.
HB would have to assume a bench role and a massive pay cut, which I doubt he does. This is his last chance to get paid and he’ll find a better contract elsewhere.
I think he’a as good as gone.
Grizz moving on from Brooks I think he’d be a nice fit there as they seem to need a locker room guy. Some morons need to be told not to flash guns on social media.
HB in and Brooks out would do wonders for that team.
I was mostly joking just cause of how much that would’ve changed the series. I don’t think HB should be a starter next year. If he takes a super team friendly deal to be a vet/bench presence, cool.
👍🏻
I think this really is the first time in these 17 years of losing basketball that I’ve truly liked everybody on this team; from players, coaches, and front office. Hell, even Vivek seemed to stay out of the way for once and let his GM/coach do his thing (although whether he truly wanted Mark Jackson, we’ll n ever know I guess). The players are just so darn likable, the coach is fantastic and changed the culture, and I love rooting for these guys.
First time in a looooooooooooong time that the season ended before I was tired of watching the team. I could have used at least a few more weeks of watching this team play. Very enjoyable and easy to watch and root for this group.
As stated in the roundtable, this series made abundantly clear the moves that need to be made to continue pushing this core to the next level. And that next level is the Finals. I mean objectively speaking, are the Duds much better than us? Fakers? Nuggets? I think with the right moves this offseason, we’re a legit contender.
We need defense and athleticism.
-Move on from HB or perhaps a sign/trade.
-Get an athletic stretch 4 next to Sabonis. Draft one and sign one (I’d even be fine with Christian Wood or Naz). I’d also be willing to use a future 1st in a trade for a 4 that’s worth it.
-Sign a jumbo sized defensive wing. Someone like Thybulle would do. Josh Hart would be the ultimate FA get and amazing fit but likely too expensive.
Some simple, to the point moves to accentuate and fine tune this roster.
I’d be good with something like this heading into next season:
Fox, Davion
KH, Monk
KM, Thybulle
Wood, the Euro stash
Domas, Lyles, Dwight Powell
2 rookies
Sabonis may have sh!t the bed in this series, but goodness does he have a lot of real estate in Draymoron’s head.
Did Sabonis really shit the bed, or did the Warriors key in on him and his teammates not hit open shots?
His weaknesses were exposed. His lack of shooting and athleticism. He couldn’t grab a board in the second half of game 7 to save his life. You can’t have that from the guy who was your best player all season and a low key MVP candidate. For the standard he set in the regular season, yes IMO he shat the bed.
He definitely did not play at or near all star level, which he is.
My hope is he’ll realize he has to have a midrange game/shoot or he’s stuck where he is on O.
Can he learn to shoot consistently? I think so?
that’s my hope, is that this series motivates him to be more willing to take as many shots as the defense is giving them to him. He’s a good shooter, but has to be able to get out of “facilitator mode” when needed.
also, hopefully his right thumb heals completely this offseason and he can start going to his right hand near the basket. He looked a little like Bagley this series, with his aversion to shooting with his right.
We lost that series because our shooting sucked, particularly from 3. You’re not going to win many games shooting 30.6% on 3s while launching 40 of them a game. Sure the Warriors D deserves some credit, but a lot of those 3s (and 2s too) were simply open shots we just missed. We shot like garbage that last game and it still took a Steph superhero game for them to win.
So sure, there’s room for improvement at the roster level and individual player level, but I don’t think we’re too far off from being able to make some noise. Can’t wait to see what Monte does in the offseason!
That’s how I saw it too.
The Dubs getting offensive rebounds hurt. That was not solely on Sabonis. Where the hell was Barnes. The guards didn’t box out their opponents.
I thought the reffing was biased. Moving screens not called. Elbows and fingers to the eyes. Forearms to the head. No calls.
Still, the Kings could have won.
All those missed threes. Every open shot a Kings player was too shy to shoot.
That’s what killed the team.
Certainly disappointed at how it ended. I expect the Kings to win game 7 especially at home but it just didn’t go our way and that’s all right. Hopefully they come back better than ever and aim to win 50 next year.
Trey Lyles should be their #1 priority and if Barnes is willing to accept a lesser role maybe coming off the bench and getting less money then I say re-sign him to a 3 year deal. If he is after probably his last big payday then I say let him walk.
Excited for the draft and free agency in a couple of months!
I moved to Sacramento in 1984 (from San Antonio, woops). Didn’t follow the Kings the first year in Sacramento in 1985 because I was more of a football person. But I have been a huge Kings fan since 1986, sticking with them through all of the tough seasons, crying in the early 90’s after regular season losses.
That ’96 playoff team was so amazing because there was a playoff drought we finally got out of. (Of course we missed the playoffs again after that, until CWebb et al., came along)
This ’23 playoff team reminds me of that feeling, of finally overcoming that drought. And this was a bigger drought.
There were so many special moments throughout this season–really magical moments. And the Beam encapsulates everything about it all.
This was my favorite season ever as a Sacramento Kings fan, and I will look back fondly at it someday. I’ll see that “Light the Beam” slogan and smile, and cherish the memories.
You’re so lucky you got to see the 2OT win against the Clippers AND Game 1 of the playoffs live in person. I’ll be you’ll remember those for a long time. 🙂
I remember them meow!
I’d love for Davion to get in the gym and get up 500 threes a day all summer. If he can become a more reliable shooter and a better distributor it would really bolster his value, both trade wise and on the court.
The Barnes rotation slot needs a significant upgrade for us to break into contender status. He’s not getting any younger, and the disappearing act in the series doesn’t bode well. It will be difficult given what’s out there, but that’s why Monte makes the big bucks.
Mitchell needs to workout with Luke Loucks this summer.
Yup–needs work on his release.
Davion would seem to be more of a Mike Bibby-style guard who moves without the ball. Kings half-court offense leaves him largely standing around when he doesn’t have the ball.
I’m guessing he’s always putting up hundreds of shots and threes a day.
He may improve slightly as a shooter but historically players who aren’t very good three point shooters improve only so much. As a player I don’t see him imoroving a ton on offense.
Just getting up to 35%-36% from 32% would help quite a bit. Agree with the comment below that developing the floater game would be a good focus for him.
I see Mitchell’s offensive improvement coming from mid-range and a floater. He is quick enough to get by his defender, but often he runs in to the trees at the rim and has to run it back out because he not a great finisher at the rim. Get that floater off before the tall guys get to you.
Probably right
What about Naz Reid at power forward and move Murray to small forward?
I’m going to disagree with many here. To me, this Kings team was a revelation in a very odd season for the NBA. The parity season. I’ll leave Denver out, but 2-13 had everyone in the mix, up and down, back and forth, from the start. Portland was #1 the first few weeks for goodness sakes.
The Kings finally, and with decisiveness, made the playoffs, and broke the drought wide open. But this team is a playoff contender not a championship contender. And that matters (to me). Gotta crawl before you walk – become playoff perennials but don’t make moves to think they are championship material – they just aren’t. (see what TWolves did with Rudy Gobert – they got drunk on their one season success). Pump the brakes.
The same lackluster playoff performers – Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter and I’ll include Domantas Sabonis – were part of the bones and part of the heart of this squad. How many games did HB come in and take over? Many. Red Velvet lead the team in 3FG%. And Domas? He was 6th in the MVP race. He lead the League in double doubles. He led the League in rebounding. All-Star, maybe All NBA was the 3rd best big man in The Association. He played with that avulsed thumb. He is the Leader of the Kings – a role which he has shared with De’Aaron Fox all season. This guy gave his heart and soul for this team – don’t kick him to the curb so fast because of one playoff series.
The regular season is not the playoffs. But this was the first foray for this squad, and to me – you have to dance with the partner that brought you to the party.
So – except for the last two weeks – you would have been delighted to sign HB to an extension – sign him for at least 3 years. Unless you are getting Josh Hart, Jerami Grant, OG Annunoby or Pascal Siakam or some equivalent or better 3rd star – keep Huerter and Barnes. Get Vezenko and see if he is your Toni Kokuc or your Nemanja Bjelica. I will repeat what I put on the other thread – I like Nikola Vucevic at C/PF. He seems a fit, offense for sure, personality as well.
For me – don’t tear down what you just built up – just yet. Bring it all back with some additions.
It was a weird NBA regular season with parity. So it’s hard to say exactly how good the Kings were. I could easily see us being a top 4 seed again or just as easily a play-in team and in both scenarios have a shot at making a deep playoff run.
The NBA has parity in the present, who knows how long it lasts. Next year, Steph, LBJ and KD will be another yr older perhaps paving the way for younger teams to supplant them. I wouldn’t mortgage the future for an all in trade, but I would keep in mind if I’m MM that with the right subtle moves this offseason we could easily push for the WCF next season.
Excellent post FF
We were extraordinarily healthy at the top of our roster. Imagine missing Domas or Fox for 15-20 games next year (which we should expect). We would struggle to play .500 ball with the current roster. Vezenkov/HB aren’t going to mitigate that risk.
Huerter is young enough to improve. Barnes just isn’t, and as others have said, doesn’t provide enough defense or rebounding alongside Keegan. I think we should try to make Keegan a tall 3 instead of a small 4, and acquire accordingly.
I personally think we are a top-40 player + a solid rotation player away from being a championship contender. Also Domas will become very expensive soon, so we would be wise to acquire said top-40 player before he starts eating up 1/3 of our payroll. We don’t have 3 years to take baby steps IMO. Sabonis won’t jump any higher at 30 making $40M annually.
Which top 40 players come to mind that are reasonable to acquire?
I can only guess at what’s available for our assets:
Siakam
Anunoby
Jarrett Allen
Lavine
Outside top 40 but worth a look:
Porzingis
Dejounte Murray
Middleton
Derozan
Jerami Grant
I would add Naz Reid to that bottom list.
Didn’t see Malik Monk mentioned in any of the remarks or comments. It’s obvious (as are all the flaws) but gotta say he was an enormous reason for why this was a winning season. He deserves 6th man of the year award and is a fearless, uber-athletic powerhouse.
I think it’s because he already is locked up in a super amazing contract and honestly nobody could even think about trading that guy. Malik means “do not trade” in Arabic after all.
Monk (and Monk Fox pairing) was a revelation. Really like what he brought in the playoffs. Aggressive. The moment was not too big for him. .
Monk’s improvement curve has been steep in the last couple of years, and I would like to see him considered for the starting SG job next season.
My takeaways from the season:
Fox – we need to see this dude play all 4 quarters, not just superstar 4th quarter Fox. It would take his game to another level if he just improved his 3 a bit more.
Murray – All this dude needs to do is improve dribbling and confidence. The dribbling will enable him to create his own shot and drive to the hoop. We saw flashes of that, and then I’m left thinking why he disappeared when he was rollin’.
Sabonis needs to work on his 3 like his life depends on it. The Warriors sagged off him and gave him the Westbrook treatment. He didn’t want to take any wide open threes and was exploited over that. Hitting threes will also crack open his potential, as well as the rest of the team.
This team is deep – Monk, Lyles, Mitchell are each nice bench guys I want to stick around. I also want to see more Kessler Edwards. 50-50 on Len. Davis on Curry gave me a horrible taste in my mouth, but that was a bad coaching choice. Would like to see Davis stay as a sparkplug backup.
Huerter needs more consistency. I’m not sure how he can improve. Maybe work on the mid range a bit more, rather than specializing at the 3.
I agree Murray and Barnes are redundant. Sure, I’d be fine with picking up Barnes on the cheap, but we have the cap space to possibly pick up someone better.
Has there been any reporting of a Barnes injury?
He barely played in game 6, and was not on the bench for a big part of the first half.
In game 7 I believe I saw him somewhere in the back on an exercise bike at some point, which seemed unusual to me.
I think when he comes out of the game he goes down the tunnel for a bit and uses the bike, then returns a few minutes later. Not sure if there is an injury or just a biometrics data driven routine to keep him healthy during the season.
I was wondering about this as well. In the first quarter of game 5, he checked out of the game, went straight down the tunnel and then we didn’t see him again until much later on.
does playing for Sacramento and the lottery for a few seasons wipe away your familiarity with playoff basketball? Is part of being in basketball hell also effect your memory (playoff amnesia)?
Thanks for the great coverage and comments, KH. LPA and I live in Utah now with our four kids and nine grandkids (who are all growing up as Kings fans despite living in Jazz country), and I’ve been writing fulltime for the last couple of years so LPA and I spend a lot of time on the road. We haven’t been doing much commenting here, but it’s so great to keep up virtually with all the regulars from STR and the new fans here.
Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate what you’re doing here. It would have been so easy after all SBN BS to let this community go, but you totally pulled off a Here We Stay by creating an even more robust site here. Now, that we’re actually getting our heads above water, financially and time-wise, we’ll definitely get more involved here. But great to see you all still together with the Kings actually in the playoffs and having all stars again. I know a lot of us were wondering if that would even be a thing again. LTB!
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