By Devin Zanskas
After famously enduring a 16-year playoff drought, the Kings finally made the postseason again in 2023, in addition to winning 18 more games than they did three seasons ago. That coincided with the Kings breaking up their backcourt of Fox and Haliburton, but them getting Sabonis back is an example of one of the most mutually beneficial trades in recent history. Losing a player in their second year after they just earned the third-most votes for the Rookie of the Year award isn’t usually a popular decision. The results speak for themselves though, as the Kings were one win away from advancing to the second round after Sabonis and Fox’s first full season together. Now that the Kings have slayed their demons from the past decade and a half, the question’s become, “How will the Kings make some significant noise in the postseason?”. That’s a lot tougher to answer than they may have made it look in 2023, as the Kings were the third seed in the West two seasons ago but the ninth seed in 2024 after only winning two less games. Between last season and 2023, the Kings also had the same top-seven scorers. Therefore, there wasn’t a substantial amount of turnover for them to blame. With the continuity of the Kings not being enough for them to fall back on in an increasingly competitive western conference, they pulled off a three-team sign-and-trade deal for DeMar DeRozan. The fit among the three former All-NBA players is a bit messy, but given the low cost for DeRozan as an unrestricted free agent, the players’ projected synergy on the court is easier to discount.
The return for DeRozan included Chris Duarte and two second-round picks for the Bulls. Furthermore, the Spurs received Harrison Barnes and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick swap from the Kings. The new Big 3 for the Kings all thrive with the ball in their hands, but there’s also a material gap between their on-ball productivity and the gravity that their floor spacing demands. Despite the Kings stars’ ability to create offense, if their defenders can distance themselves from them when they don’t have the ball, their defenders are able to clog the lane for the rest of the Kings. That’s how organizations might experience diminishing returns when they acquire an all-star compared to what’s expected from a team whose players have the resume of Fox, DeRozan, and Sabonis. An example of a trade built almost exclusively on the sum of the roster’s talent is when the Lakers sent Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell to the Wizards for Russell Westbrook. That transaction led to the Lakers winning nine less games than they did in 2021 after they already had a large decline in wins between then and when they won the championship in the Bubble. The difference between this Kings team and the 2022 Lakers is that the Kings have been able to maintain their complimentary players like Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, and Devin Carter.
That’s the beauty of being able a execute a sign-and-trade, despite it triggering a hard cap at the first apron, according to Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ. It allowed the Kings to add DeRozan, whose value is much higher than the $12.8 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which was the most substantial tool at Sacramento’s disposal, besides a trade. Surely, not being permitted to exceed the first apron under any circumstance is punitive, but because it was necessary to get someone of DeRozan’s caliber, it’s worth the limitation throughout the year. Even before the DeRozan trade, the Kings were linked to other former all-stars in Lauri Markkanen and Brandon Ingram. Although, since those two are still under contract with their teams, it probably would’ve cost Sacramento at least another impactful player such as Murray, Huerter, Monk, and/or more draft capital. None of the Kings’ Big 3 made a name for themselves on defense, but they went from being ranked 24th in defensive rating in 2023 to being in the top half of the league last year. There was a similar phenomenon with the 2007 Cavaliers, who were coached by Mike Brown in his second season with the team, and he’s also the current coach for the Kings. At the same time, the Kings’ offensive rating dropped to being ranked 13th last year after being the best that association had ever seen in 2023, per statmuse.com. This wasn’t totally unheard of, as the team with the highest offensive rating in the league in three of the past four seasons has broken the record for that same statistic. Nevertheless, it’s still a remarkable achievement. With the prowess of the Kings’ Big 3, Sacramento’s aim is to get back to the dynamism that their offense had two years ago, without sacrificing the reputable defense that they’ve built up since then.
Of the Kings’ Big 3, Fox might be the most likely to take on more responsibility for Sacramento’s defense, as he’s widely considered one of the fastest players in the association. Last season, Fox led the league in steals per game, but event creation doesn’t always translate to consistent contributions on the defensive end of the court. In fact, a higher number of steals may come from more risk taking, which can also lead to the ball handler blowing by, and creating more 5-on-4 possessions against whoever’s trying to force a turnover. Perhaps if DeRozan is poised to take some of the scoring burden off of Fox’s shoulders, then Fox can focus more on the other side of the floor. While DeRozan’s skillset is harder to find compared to where Barnes exceled, the swap that was made was also a bet on Murray or Huerter being able to take on tougher defensive assignments. That’s a huge role to hand to a player in their third year, who’d be tasked with guarding the likes of LeBron and Durant, but Huerter isn’t a much more promising option for the job compared to Murray. A number of observers have suggested that the Kings should start a defensive-minded guard in Keon Ellis instead of Huerter in order to make it more difficult on their opponents’ perimeter attack. Since they already have Monk though, they may have trouble getting their best players on the court if two of the players in their top six for minutes per game last year are coming off of the bench. It all comes down to how the Kings’ Big 3 will fit together, but it’s admirable that they made a home run swing, instead of playing it safe after being desperate to just make the playoffs for so long.
