Sacramento Kings 2024-25 season preview: Did they shut the hole on West's greatest?

The 2024-25 NBA season is right here! We’re breaking down the most important questions, best- and worst-case eventualities, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 groups. Get pleasure from!

SACRAMENTO KINGS

2023-24 end

Offseason strikes

• Additions: DeMar DeRozan, Jalen McDaniels, Devin Carter, Jordan McLaughlin, Orlando Robinson

• Subtractions: Harrison Barnes, Chris Duarte, Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, Kessler Edwards

• Complete roster

The Huge Query: Does DeMar make them proficient sufficient?

When the Kings finally ended their 16-year postseason drought, they did so on the power of an elite offense that ranked as one of the most efficient per-possession attacks ever. However Sacramento’s rise additionally got here within the context of a convention in flux. A slew of stars — LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Cities, Zion Williamson — missed critical time with accidents. Some incumbent powerhouses underwent roster overhauls; some upstarts hadn’t but superior their rebuilds.

All that uncertainty left the door unlocked, and De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, head coach Mike Brown and Co. kicked it down. Final season, although, with lots of these stars returning and newcomers like Oklahoma Metropolis and Houston making leaps, 10 of the West’s different 14 groups improved their win totals. Seven of them completed with greater than the 48 victories Sacramento claimed in 2022-23; seven completed with increased offensive rankings than a Kings staff that had made lighting up scoreboards (and beams) its inventory in commerce.

There have been different elements: opponents being higher ready for his or her dribble-handoff-heavy offense; drop-offs from Barnes and Kevin Huerter (nonetheless out rehabbing his surgically repaired labrum); worse harm luck; declines in free-throw try fee and photographs on the rim; and so on. For probably the most half, although, that’s the way you go from third to ninth, even with Sabonis and Fox combining for practically 5,600 minutes of All-Star/All-NBA-level ball, and regardless of Brown coaxing the Kings’ first above-average defensive end since 2006. The general tide of expertise rose and swept the Kings apart.

The seek for extra firepower reportedly included inquiries on the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram earlier than ultimately landing on DeRozan, an authorized bucket-getter who has averaged 20-plus factors per recreation for 11 straight seasons. The 15-year vet provides Brown one other bridge to environment friendly offense, whether or not flying solo in isolation or pairing with Sabonis — or, for that matter, Fox and re-signed bench boss Malik Monk — within the two-man recreation.

Over time, DeRozan has sharpened his recreation right into a streamlined instrument of destruction. Since 2019, solely 13 NBA gamers have averaged not less than 20 factors and 5 assists per recreation with a real capturing share (which elements in 2-point, 3-point and free-throw accuracy) north of .590. The listing is principally an All-NBA poll. DeRozan’s on it.

Consider his elite turnover rate and memorable sturdiness (he’s missed simply 50 video games over the previous 9 years and led the league in minutes final season), and even at age 35, DeRozan’s one hell of an offensive participant. His experience at midnight artwork of pump-faking defenders into the air and drawing contact should bolster Sacramento’s free-throw try fee, which plunged from fourth in 2022-23 to 25th last season. And his bona fides in “clutch” conditions by which the rating’s inside 5 factors within the last 5 minutes ought to assist an offense that plummeted from first in crunch-time efficiency in 2022-23 to 18th last season.

And but: Will that be sufficient to make up for the awkward match of swapping out a lower-usage, higher-volume-3-point-shooting ahead like Barnes for a higher-usage, non-shooting alternative? It’ll be value monitoring whether or not Sabonis, who has shot 36.4% from 3-point vary as a King, starts letting them fly on the kind of elevated clip that Brown wants.

What concerning the doubtless defensive shortcomings of Sabonis-DeRozan lineups? A ton of duty will relaxation on point-of-attack disruptor Keon Ellis, a midseason revelation now in line to start next to Fox, and third-year ahead Keegan Murray, who developed into a quality perimeter defender final season, to fill within the blanks.

If Brown can strike the precise steadiness, Sacramento’s destiny will relaxation with whether or not Fox, Sabonis and DeRozan have sufficient firepower to outlive in a discipline that includes so many heavy hitters. The Kings want them to be nice; on this West, “fairly good” isn’t adequate.

Finest-case state of affairs

Sabonis, DeRozan, Fox and Monk share scoring and playmaking tasks superbly; with bounce-back capturing seasons for Murray and Huerter, that’s a recipe for a return to top-five standing on offense. Sacramento carries over its top-10 post-All-Star-break defense, with Ellis and Murray establishing themselves among the many West’s greatest perimeter stoppers. That mixture is sufficient for the franchise’s first 50-win season — and first playoff sequence victory — for the reason that Chris Webber commerce.

If every part falls aside

The undertaking of integrating the extra deliberate DeRozan into Sacramento’s sped-up system proves difficult, leaving the Kings caught between stations searching for an offensive identification. The protection slides again towards the underside third of the league, the place it has rested for a lot of the previous 20 years. A barely above-average offense and a below-average protection produces a deeply common staff — one incapable of climbing out of the play-in combine, of returning to the postseason and of giving the beam-lovers in California’s capital a brand new motive to consider.

Fantasy spin

The Kings have 4 gamers able to ending within the high 75 in fantasy. Nonetheless, I believe DeRozan’s arrival caps Murray’s upside and breakout potential. Murray is coming off a profitable sophomore marketing campaign the place he improved in practically each class and noticed a 3% bump in utilization to 18%. Murray said his role won’t change from last year, however going from the third to fourth possibility has to influence his touches and alternatives.

Whereas he stays a 3-point specialist, Murray might be extra impactful on protection. He’s Sacramento’s greatest wing defender, so accumulating extra shares might counter the potential dip in offensive output. Murray’s seventh-round ADP is wealthy, however I am inclined to make the transfer if he falls to the eighth. — Dan Titus

2024-25 schedule

The Kings gained 46 regardless of barely topping .500 in clutch video games, most of their core items are both of their prime or approaching it, and so they simply added an All-Star-caliber offensive weapon. Give me the over. Gentle the friggin’ beam.