As part of a new series of articles produced exclusively for Sky Sports by NBA superfans from across the UK and Ireland, we look at the state of play for every franchise with preseason now under way ahead of the new campaign
Tuesday 18 October 2022 08:14, UK
Kings devotee Jack Harrington assesses the 2021-22 season for the team and then casts an eye ahead to the 2022-23 campaign for Sacramento.
I've always been a Kings fan due to my family that live in Sacramento, they would send merchandise over as I was growing up. Caps, jerseys, T-shirts from fan nights at the old Arco Arena. I had a pretty good collection of merchandise before even really watching a single game.
I usually support the Kings just by staying up till the early hours of the morning watching games and tweeting from my two accounts @SacKingsUK and @JTH__.
The current roster is filled with multiple young players. De'Aaron Fox is my favourite player. I love watching his explosive speed leading to highlight plays and then his ability to set up his teammates when the defence collapses worrying about De'Aaron's ability to score inside so easily, it helps when you are arguably the fastest point guard in the league today and not many defenders can react quick enough to get in front of you.
Questions are still be to asked if De'Aaron has what it takes to lead this team back into the NBA Playoffs, ending the 16-year playoff drought. Multiple lacklustre performances on defense and lack of 3-point shooting, 29.7 per cent last year from three which ranked him 119th of 123 NBA players who recorded at least four attempts from beyond the arc has raised questions. The addition on Damontas Sabonis has already proven to be beneficial towards the Kings and Fox's game. He was on a tear post the Sabonis-Haliburton trade, it unlocked a version of Fox I hope to see much more of next season and one the league should keep an eye out for.
Last season was another year filled with disappointment, frustration and ended with a little bit of hopefulness as the Kings missed out on the postseason for the 15th straight season – a cycle many Kings fans are far too familiar with. It took just 17 games for the Kings to decide to fire Luke Walton and hire Alvin Gentry as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The firing of Walton was always going to happen at some point, I only wished it was done in the offseason as it was clear he was out of his depth.
Trade deadline came around and the Kings were still hopeful of making the play-in but seemed to also look towards going all in for the playoffs next season. They were involved in a few trades and were mentioned in every single trade rumour out there at the time.
For fans and media around the NBA this led to more questions than answers about the Kings direction, but for me it was a clear indication of two things. They proved that Fox is their guy going forward and look to surround him with talent to make the playoffs (something which they failed to do correctly during the DeMarcus Cousins era). It was also a nod towards going all in for the 2023 season postseason even though they didn't give up on making the play-in towards the end of the season. It was clear they needed pretty close to a miracle to get in but the Kings have never been one to call it quits and tank for a higher draft pick.
This offseason was massively important for this team, there was a lot to do. Starting off with the search for a new head coach. Kings appointed Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown as the man for the job in Sacramento. Now don't get me wrong, I do like the hire a lot, but were there bigger names and more experienced candidates out there? Yes. However, you have to remember the big names tend to avoid a job like this and for good reason. The Kings' reputation hasn't come across too well over the past decade or so when it comes to coaching staff.
Once Mike Brown was done winning another ring with the Warriors, he got to Sacramento and began working with GM Monte McNair. The first matter at hand was the NBA Draft Lottery. The Kings were projected to be the No 8 pick but the balls fell the right way for us and this saw us jump up to No 4.
Despite all the reports of the team trading away this pick or moving back, the Kings stayed put and took 6ft 8ins Iowa forward Keegan Murray. Since seeing this kid play and win the Summer League MVP (averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.3 steals per game – shooting 50 per cent overall and 40 per cent from three), there are no doubts it was a good decision for the team to take a player who is ready to contribute immediately. Grade A.
Keon Ellis was signed to a two-way deal as an undrafted rookie and I think it was a great move by the team. Keon was known as a 3-and-D sleeper coming into this year's draft who in his final collegiate season earned SEC all-Defensive selection. He averaged 12.1 points 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.8 assists, while shooting 43.9 per cent from the field and 36.6 per cent from three. He has a real shot at earning a full NBA contract in the future with the Kings and I'm happy to watch his development with both the Sacramento Kings and Stockton Kings.
The Kings continued to make smart moves during free agency, picking up Malik Monk to a two-year, $19million contract. Monk reunites with his college teammate De'Aaron Fox and will certainly help space the flow with his 3-point shooting.
The Kings then decided to add to their team but via a trade instead of free agency. They received Kevin Huerter from Atlanta in a trade which fitted with the theme of the offseason. Get players who can shoot from beyond the arc. This was an impressive trade for a front office desperately needing good decisions to start paying off sooner rather than later. Grade A.
Overall, it was really a solid offseason by the Kings, one I hope takes them to the next level and at least gets us into the play-in. When you look at the comparison in team quality now to the start of last season there is definitely some improvement and temptation for us Kings fans to be optimistic of the coming season, whether that proves to be the usual trap we will see.
Next season, it's postseason or bust for this team – anything less should be seen as a failure and the future issues it may cause. For example, Sabonis leaving at the end of his contract due to wanting to play winning basketball will only further make people question the trade sending Haliburton away for him.
I do think the team is headed in the right direction and the play-in is definitely a more realistic target this season than last. The performances from De'Aaron Fox, Damontas Sabonis and second year player Davion Mitchell will be key for the team to reach their target for this season, that along with Richaun Holmes off the bench hoping to find his form again after a disappointing campaign on court last season.
At the end of the day, Sacramento Kings fans deserve playoff basketball so much (the franchise was last involved in the postseason in 2006, by far the longest wait in the NBA). I can't wait for it happen and, when it does, Golden 1 Center will have the best atmosphere in the entire playoffs. When that happens, fans around the league should definitely tune in and watch!
