The Sacramento Kings’ 14-year playoff drought is the longest in the NBA. The franchise is on its fourth general manager since the last time it was in the postseason and hope Monte McNair will help the Kings end the run of futility.

McNair has a ton of work to do with the roster. Sacramento has some solid building blocks in place, starting with budding All-Star De’Aaron Fox. The Kings hope Marvin Bagley’s health isn’t an issue next season, while players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield have shown that they can be meaningful contributors.

Jason Jones of The Athletic was asked during a recent mailbag how long he thinks it will take for Sacramento to get back into the playoffs:

Bagley’s fifth year in the league will be the 2022-2023 season. I don’t think Sacramento is that far off from making the playoffs. McNair will make some moves in the offseason to round out the roster, and the Kings could land a rotational piece with the 12th pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.

The Western Conference will be loaded once again in 2021. The top-eight teams will bring back most of their rosters while young squads like the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans will make some noise as well next season.

McNair will have to make a trade or two to bring in more talent. If he can hit a home run and add another piece through free agency in 2021, Sacramento could very well challenge for a playoff berth during the 2021-22 season.

On to some links:

The Buddy Hield situation will play itself out during the offseason. Sean Deveny of Forbes says Hield is his own worst enemy.

Sacramento added veteran coach Alvin Gentry to Luke Walton’s staff. Kings.com has a nice profile on the NBA-lifer.

McNair could look to make a move at the NBA Draft. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley looks at one potential trade offer that could come the Kings’ way.