The 2024-2025 NBA season is here! We analyze the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
SACRAMENTO KINGS
End 2023-24
Off-season moves
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Additions: DeMar DeRozan, Jalen McDaniels, Devin Carter, Jordan McLaughlin, Orlando Robinson
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Deductions: Harrison Barnes, Chris Duarte, Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, Kessler Edwards
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Complete roster
The big question: Does DeMar make them talented enough?
When the Kings finally ended their sixteen-year postseason drought, they did so thanks to an elite offense that was considered one of the most efficient per-possession attacks ever. But the rise of Sacramento Also came into motion in the context of a conference. A slew of stars – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zion Williamson – missed serious time with injuries. Some established major powers underwent roster overhauls; some newcomers had not yet finished their reconstruction.
All that uncertainty left the door locked, and De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, head coach Mike Brown and Co. kicked the door down. But last season, with many of those stars returning and newcomers like Oklahoma City and Houston making big leaps, 10 the other 14 teams in the West improved their win totals. Seven of them finished with more than Sacramento’s 48 wins in 2022-2023; seven finished with higher offensive ratings than a Kings team that had made lighting up scoreboards (and beams) its stock in trade.
There were other factors: opponents were better prepared for their dribble-handoff-heavy offense; drop-offs of Barnes and Kevin Huerter (still rehabbing his surgically repaired labrum); worse injury luck; decrease in the number of free throw attempts and the number of shots on the hoop; etc. But for the most part, that’s how you go from third to ninth, even with Sabonis and Fox combining for nearly 5,600 All-Star/All-NBA level minutes, and despite Brown taking the Kings’ first over- average defensive finish since 2006. The overall wave of talent rose and swept the Kings aside.
The search for more firepower reportedly included asking the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram before ultimately landing on DeRozan, a certified bucket-getter who has averaged more than 20 points per game for 11 straight seasons. The 15-year vet gives Brown another bridge to an efficient offense, whether flying solo in isolation or teaming up with Sabonis – or Fox and re-signed bench boss Malik Monk, for that matter – in the two-man game.
Over the years, DeRozan has honed his game into a sleek instrument of destruction. Since 2019, only 13 NBA players have averaged at least 20 points and five assists per game with a true shooting percentage (which includes 2-point, 3-point and free throw accuracy) north of .590. The list is essentially an All-NBA ballot. DeRozan is working on it.
Add in his elite turnover rate and remarkable durability (he’s missed just 50 games over the last nine years and led the league in minutes in minutes last season), and even at 35, DeRozan is a tremendous offensive player. His expertise in the dark art of mimicking defenders in the air and drawing contact should boost Sacramento’s free throw percentage, which fell from fourth to fourth in 2022-23 25th last season. And its bona fide in clutch situations where the score within five points in the final five minutes should help an offense that plummeted from first in crunch-time efficiency in 2022-23 to 18th last season.
And yet: Will that be enough to offset the awkward situation of replacing a lower-usage, higher-volume 3-point shooter like Barnes with a higher-usage, non-shooting replacement? It’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether Sabonis, who has shot 36.4% from three-point range as a King, starts making them fly at the kind of increased clip Brown wants.
What about the likely defensive shortcomings of Sabonis-DeRozan’s lineup? A lot of the responsibility will fall on point-of-attack disruptor Keon Ellis, a midseason revelation who is now poised to start next to Fox, and on third-year forward Keegan Murray, who developed into a quality perimeter defender last season, to take on the task to take on. blanks.
If Brown can find the right balance, Sacramento’s fate will depend on whether Fox, Sabonis and DeRozan have enough firepower to survive in a field with so many heavy hitters. The Kings need them to be great; in this West, ‘pretty good’ is not good enough.
At best
Sabonis, DeRozan, Fox and Monk share the scoring and playmaking responsibilities beautifully; with rebound shooting seasons for Murray and Huerter, that’s a recipe for a return to top-five status on offense. Sacramento continues its top-10 post-All-Star break defense, with Ellis and Murray establishing themselves as the West’s best perimeter stoppers. That combination is enough for the franchise’s first 50-win season – and first playoff series win – since the Chris Webber trade.
When everything falls apart
The project to integrate the more single-minded DeRozan into Sacramento’s accelerated system is proving challenging, leaving the Kings stuck between stations in search of an offensive identity. The defense is sliding back into the bottom third of the league, where it has been stagnant for the better part of the last two decades. A slightly above-average offense and a below-average defense produces a very average team – one that is unable to climb out of the play-in mix, return to the postseason and give beam enthusiasts in California’s capital a new reason to give to believe .
Fantasy twist
The Kings have four players who could end up in the fantasy top 75. However, I think the arrival of DeRozan increases Murray’s upside and breakout potential. Murray is coming off a successful sophomore campaign in which he improved in nearly every category, seeing a 3% increase in usage to 18%. Murray said his role won’t change from last year, but the move from third to fourth option will impact his touches and opportunities.
While he remains a three-point specialist, Murray can have a bigger impact on defense. He is Sacramento’s best fullback, so picking up more stock could counteract the potential dip in offensive output. Murray’s ADP in the seventh round is rich, but I’m inclined to make the move if he drops to the eighth. – Dan Titus
Schedule 2024-25
The Kings won 46 despite barely hitting .500 in clutch games. Most of their core pieces are in or approaching their prime, and they just added an All-Star-caliber offensive weapon. Give me the over. Light the damn beam.
