The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the biggest questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
SACRAMENTO KINGS
2023-24 end
Offseason moves
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 Big Question: Does DeMar make them talented enough?
When the Kings finally ended their 16-year postseason drought, they did so on the strength of an elite offense that ranked as one of the most effective per-possession attacks ever. But the rise of Sacramento too came in the context of a conference in flux. A host 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 current powers have undergone roster revisions; some beginners have not progressed their reconstructions yet.
All that uncertainty left the door unlocked, and De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, head coach Mike Brown and Co. kicked it. Last season, however, with many of those stars returning and newcomers like Oklahoma City and Houston making jumps, 10 of the other 14 teams from the West improved their win totals. Seven of them finished with more than the 48 wins Sacramento required in 2022-23; seven finished with higher offensive ratings than a Kings team that made lighting up scoreboards (and beams) their stock in business.
There were other factors: opponents being better prepared for their dribble-handoff-heavy offense; falls from Barnes and Kevin Huerter (still out rehabbing his surgically repaired labrum); worse wound strength; decreases in free throw attempt rate and shots at the rim; etc. Mostly, though, that’s how you go from third to ninth, even with Sabonis and Fox combining for nearly 5,600 minutes of All-Star/All-NBA-level ball, and despite Brown coaxing the Kings’ first above-average defensive finish since 2006. The general tide of talent rose and swept the Kings aside.
The search for more firepower reportedly included inquiries into the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram before eventually landing on DeRozan, a proven bucket scorer who has averaged 20-plus points per game for 11 straight seasons. The 15-year vet gives Brown another bridge to an effective offense, whether flying solo in isolation or pairing with Sabonis — or, for that matter, Fox and re-signed bench boss Malik Monk — in the two-man game.
Over the years, DeRozan has sharpened his game into a streamlined 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 takes into account 2-point, 3-point and free throw accuracy) north of .590. The list is basically an All-NBA poll. DeRozan is on it.
Factor in his elite turnover rate and remarkable durability (he’s missed just 50 games over the past nine years and led the league in minutes last season), and even at age 35, DeRozan’s one hell of an offensive player. His expertise in the dark art of pump-faking defenders in the air and drawing contact should boost Sacramento’s free throw attempt, which dived from fourth in 2022-23 to 25th last season. And his confidence in “clutch” situations in which the score is within five points in the final five minutes should help an offense that has fallen from first in emergency performance in 2022-23 to 18th last season.
And yet: Will that be enough to make up for the awkward fit of trading a lower-usage, higher-volume 3-point shooter like Barnes for a higher-usage, non-shooting replacement? It will be worth checking if Sabonis, who shot 36.4% from 3-point range as a King, starts letting them fly at the kind of raised clip that Brown wants.
What about the likely defensive deficiencies of Sabonis-DeRozan lineups? A lot of responsibility will rest on point guard Keon Ellis, a midseason revelation now on the line. start next to Foxand third-year forward Keegan Murray, who has developed into a quality perimeter defender last season, to fill in the blanks.
If Brown can strike the right balance, Sacramento’s fate will depend on whether Fox, Sabonis and DeRozan have enough firepower to survive in a field featuring so many heavy hitters. The Kings need them to be great; in this West, “good enough” is not enough.
Best case scenario
Sabonis, DeRozan, Fox and Monk share scoring and playmaking responsibilities nicely; with rebound shooting seasons for Murray and Huerter, that’s a recipe for a return to top-five status on offense. Sacrament carries its top 10 post-All-Star breakout defensewith Ellis and Murray establishing themselves among the West’s best perimeter stoppers. That combination is good enough for the franchise’s first 50-win season — and first playoff series victory — since the Chris Webber trade.
If everything falls apart
The project of integrating the more conscious DeRozan into the accelerated system of Sacramento is proving challenging, leaving the kings stuck between stations in search of an offensive identity. The defense is slipping back to the bottom third of the league, where it has rested for most of the past 20 years. A slightly above-average offense and below-average defense produce a deeply average team – one unable to climb out of the playoffs, from returning to the postseason and giving the beam lovers in California’s capital a new reason to believe. .
A fancy spin
The Kings have four players capable of finishing in the top 75 in fantasy. However, I think DeRozan’s arrival limits Murray’s upside and breakout potential. Murray is coming off a successful sophomore campaign where he improved in nearly every category and saw a 3% increase in usage to 18%. Murray said his role will not change from last yearbut going from the third to fourth option must affect his touches and opportunities.
While he remains a 3-point specialist, Murray can be more effective on defense. He’s Sacramento’s best wing defender, so accumulating more stock could counteract the potential dip in offensive production. Murray’s seventh-round ADP is rich, but I’m inclined to make the move if he drops to eighth. — Dan Titus
schedule 2024-25
The Kings have won 46 despite barely topping .500 in clutch games, most of their core pieces are either in their prime or nearing it, and they just added an All-Star caliber offensive weapon. Give me the upper hand. Shine the damn beam.
