What’s Next For The Sacramento Kings?!

What’s Next For The Sacramento Kings?!

after finally breaking their playoff drought Kings fairy tale story did not continue into 2024 despite only winning two less games than their playoff bound season the Kings fell into the plan and ultimately failed to reach the postseason a 46- win season is still nothing to scoff at but things do get interesting this off season as they have the impending free agency of elite Sixth Man Malik Monk and the extension of The Monto sabonis kicks in this season point being the Kings have a crucial off season to keep themselves in the playoff pitcher 2023 24 season of dear and fox is an interesting case study Fox still had a great season and dropped career highs in points three-point attempts and three-point percentage But ultimately was much worse than his all NBA season which is weird when you only glance at the numbers and when you consider the fact that historically three-point shooting has always been the biggest potential Improvement part of Fox’s game and he was was a very good three-point shooter last season as mentioned he had a career-high and three-point attempts and three-point percentage however that didn’t necessarily benefit his offensive production nor the teams Fox started to settle for a lot more threes and deep twos as opposed to using his Elite Speed to get to the rim or create Great Looks in the short mid-range one of the most underrated part of Fox’s game when he starts to operate in that 8 to 12 foot range and starts taking turnaround jumpers so although it was still a very good season and fox became a more talented three-point shooter his Tendencies ultimately hurt his overall impact damont sabonis had a very very dominant season we all know of the double double streak and although on limited volume he had the most efficient three-point shooting season of his career with his new extension kicking in next season at 41.8 million the Kings will need his Elite production to continue or the need to look elsewhere for a fresh look and potentially a more defensive one side note uh sabona somehow got Dey and all defensive votes that guy take his vote away please I love sabonis great player but Dey come on Malik bunk had another great season in Sacramento proving himself to be one of the best sixth men in the NBA finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting despite his injury towards the end of the season and that injury very much hurt the Kings during the play in tournament and are very likely to be missing him next season as he enters free agency which poses a great concern for this off season for the Kings hean Murray continues to be a great draft pick for Sacramento the three-point shooting was a bit more inconsistent this year than in year 1 but there was leaps in terms of self-creation and Murray became a much improved Wing Defender ultimately we know Murray is a good three-point shooter he showed that in the playing tournament so any improvements around that it’s a good thing Kevin herder was arguably the biggest disappointment on the Kings last season after a strong first year in Sacramento whilst playing a big part in their historically Elite offense the three-point shooting simply fell off a cliff and ultimately ended up having a season ending injury this was the worst three-point shooting season of his career that’s age-wise he’s only entering his prime now so I would expect a bounce back season this shouldn’t be a continued trend for herder he’s always been a good shooter Harrison Barnes is another disappointing player for the Kings last year after having his worst statistical season since he left Golden State Barnes at this point is is just very mid he’s he’s an okay Defender he’s a decent three-point shooter he a decent cutter but the self creation is very limited especially at this point in time in his career and at 32 years of age the future for Harrison Barnes may be outside of Sacramento or at least ideally off of their starting lineup but getting that actually done that’s easier said than done the other notable pieces in Sacramento last year included the Canadian Trey LS who continues to be a fine bench piece for the Kings and he had his most efficient three-point shooting season of his career last year despite the reduced role Davon Mitchell arguably had the most impactful season of his young career largely thanks to him figuring out his three-point shot that looked so promising at Baylor and Keon Ellis was a very pleasant surprise as the undrafted guard was a big reason for the king’s defensive improvement over the course of the season and all again not in Crazy volume but shot over 41% from three it’s far from their biggest concern this off season but the draft will continue to be important for the Kings this year as they look to add more depth to the roster especially with the potential loss of some of their bench pieces via free agency they will enter the draft this year with pick 13 and pick 45 just a quick note before we get into the free agency of Malik monk which is obviously the biggest elephant in the room what’s next for the Kings the kings are projected to be nearly over 40 million over the cap going into the offseason uh they are not over the tax apron but they certainly have no Financial flexibility and will not be able to tap into any cap space to sign a potential Malik monk placement I’ll have the mid-level exception and that’s about it as far as free agency goes so let’s talk about it fre agency of Malik Monk Is arguably the biggest part of the king’s off season You could argue monk is the third most important player on the Kings and he is certainly their only other shot Creator aside from Fox which makes him extremely valuable he nearly won six men of the Year even with his injury and they clearly missed him in the plan thanks to his great play which Sacramento have benefited from uh it’s now going to be an issue because he’s going to get a bag and it’s dubious that the Kings will be able to hold on to him reason one is that monk m just want to play elsewhere but two and even more importantly with the Kings only having early bird rights and being over the salary cap the most the Kings can offer Monk Is 175% of his salary during the 2023 24 season which gives them an annual salary of nearly 17 million which isn’t an insignificant fee but after two great seasons in Sacramento it’s very likely another Squad is willing to offer much more so likely north of 20 million year at the bare minimum and deservedly so so if monk wants to chase the money which he probably should it could end up being the biggest contract of his career then there’s not really anything the Kings can do about it in short it’s it’s very unlikely that Malik monk is back in Sacramento next season a team like Orlando they got c space they’re going to give him more than 17 M year if they are interested which they probably will be and so he’s not coming back to Sacramento so then the most important question is once you face that reality how do you go about replacing him there’s not many guys that are the quality of Malik monk in the world that can be your sixthman there’s a reason he was second in voting last year so ultimately there’s no ideal way to go about it especially for a team that doesn’t have the cap space as we previously mentioned now they could select a replacement in the draft with pick 13 but evidently there will will be growing pains and concerns with that and they would be nowhere near the immediate production of Malik monk if they ever got to that level of production again in free agency the Kings have no cap space so the best they could do is offer the mid-level exception however the players who will be able to sign at the midlevel exception will undoubtedly be much worse than Malik monk such options that could fall in around this price strange would be marel folz ton Horton Tucker mon Morris org melson and evidently none of those options are ideal most of them are two-way guys in the case of the Anthony Melton you’re especially relying on the defensive band they’re valuable players they’re not mal leak monk Replacements ultimately the kings are going to lose a crucial part of their offensive creation and baring a trade I just don’t see a way where they can replace it and there’s just not much they can do about it they’re going to get worse from an offensive ation standpoint unless a drastic move is made that’s the unfortunate reality for a potential trade that could shake things up could come is through Harrison Barnes it’s clear last year was a bit of a Down year in production for Barnes which was incapsulated in frustration by his play during the playing tournament NE Barnes is still a fine Wing but ideally at this point he’s probably coming off your bench or the alternative is to trade him to try and improve your team is is is I don’t think a trade exists around Harrison Barnes that actually improves your roster in a significant manner a potential Barnes trade probably NS you a couple of second round picks and some lowquality young players such as this trade to the Jazz if the Kings really wanted to get off his money they could flip him to the jazz or the Spurs team with cap space that would absorb his contract for the next couple of years and take on a veteran presence but it’s unlikely some great trade exists with Barnes so he probably back in Sacramento next year and likely as a starter unless a bigger trade gets made bigger trade you may ask of course it it has to involve St Center damont sabonis and I know this is a controversial topic he’s coming off a great season one that certainly has given him an all-nba appearance and somehow even got him a depy vote although that assuredly was most not deserved however sabonis did actually show up in the playing cament this year as opposed to the stinkers he often had in the 2023 playoffs the issue is is sabonis is set to make an average of 46.5 million over the course of the next four seasons and he is the only piece on the roster outside of fox with significant value and although sabonis is the one that made the lnba team Fox is the only shot Creator on this team and that has much greater impact on the team ceiling while sabonis raises their floor if you trade Fox you have one shot Creator if you get one in return for him and if you don’t you have none and sabonis is a great playmaker he’s a great rebounder he is a very talented basketball player but you need Elite perimeter play you need Elite guard play in this league you just do obviously sabonis is not that if the objective is to raise the ceiling sabonis is the one who has to get traded now if you want to raise the floor he keeps a bonus or maybe even trade Fox and get some better pieces around sabonis whatever that looks like but if you want to raise your ceiling and get to be back into the potential top four seeds in the west then sabonis is the guy who has to get moved and whether that’s to improve their defense uh whether it’s to diversify the talent of sabonis into more depth or to acquire a greater star there’s several directions one can go with the potential sabon tra so I know controversial but but let’s explore some hypotheticals one potential option is with the Pelicans for Brandon Ingram now this trade doesn’t necessarily have to be a straight swap with the two stars pick or role players could be added either way as you see fit but financially sa bonus for Ingram works for the Kings this would give them another shot Creator replacing some of the Void felt from the departure of Malik Monk and it would allow Harrison Barnes to move to the bench this addresses two of the primary issues we have discussed so far monks departure and the production of Harrison Barnes now the obvious Gap is you don’t have a center anymore and the Kings would then have to make another trade possibly with Harrison Barnes or explore mid-level exception or vet minimum free agency options however the options in free agency would be very limited and subpar with former Pelican Center JV possibly being the only one at or around mid-level exception value and he still doesn’t help the defensive concern and it’s very possible he gets paid more than the mid-level exception for the pels this gives them an offensive Hub to run plenty of dribble hands offs and screens for Zion and CJ but it doesn’t completely address the defensive and spacing concerns that they currently have with JV uh it’s a possible trade but ultimately not an ideal fit for either side a trade that may more accurately address the king’s needs is with the Atlanta Hawks a trade that would see the Kings keep solid play at the center position improve their defense keep good rebounding but also give Fox a great lob threat Kings would also have the ability to move Barnes to the bench with the arrival of DeAndre Hunter whilst the first round picks give the Kings future flexibility in the case of a future star trade for Atlanta this would signal a commitment to the offens of Duo but defensive concerns of sabonis and Trey young with a likely Deon Murray trade a curring to replace some depth and address some of those defensive concerns the depth for the Kings would be great after this move but they still would not have a secondary crater alongside Fox ultimately no trade of damont sabonis likely addresses all of the king’s problems this offseason and that’s just the harsh reality of where they’re at right now as they enter the 2024 off season with the extension of spis with the current play of Harrison Barnes and with the free agency of Malik monk there’s no perfect solution and it’s going to be difficult to be even as good as they were this season never mind get better largely thanks to that likely departure of Malik Monk

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Run The NBA, Devin Kenny, is a full time college student and basketball fan. He is a former athlete who has turned to content creation due to many injuries, and is building an NBA/basketball community.

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