3 reasons why the Sacramento Kings aren’t a laughing stock anymore

3 reasons why the Sacramento Kings aren’t a laughing stock anymore: 3. They have actual players

Laugh all you want, but Fox still has the potential to be an All-Star one day. Even if that doesn’t happen, you better believe he’d still get some sort of return on the market. Mitchell is a keeper, but if this version of the roster starts to go off the rails, he is the perfect player for a contender to come in and spend considerable assets on.

Mitchell isn’t quite like Gary Payton II in how he plays the game, but there are similarities in the defensive play and the knack they have for giving the group they’re playing with a boost. We just saw in the NBA Finals how invaluable that was. So much so that the Portland Trail Blazers went out and spent money to ensure they could get Payton II.

Sabonis has only played 15 games for the Kings, but his averages in that time of 18.9 points and 12.3 rebounds are either equal to, or better than, his All-Star level numbers with the Indiana Pacers. He is only 25, and although his defensive work is not what he is best known for, the Kings ranked 18th in this category (116.2) over the final 15 games of the season.

When you consider they ranked 27th over the course of the whole season (114.8), it is fair to say that the play of Sabonis around the rim defensively, while also putting up the numbers that he did, was beneficial to the Kings on a team-wide level. Even if his future is ultimately elsewhere, he is also an asset, although coach Brown should be able to get even more out of him.

Harrison Barnes is still on this roster and has been wanted by other teams for years now. There is a deal out there to get the Kings more assets back. The same goes for Malik Monk (who, you know, might just actually be good in Sacramento when he gets going) and even Richaun Holmes. We have to stop laughing at the Kings now because they have quietly done a really nice job of steadying the leakiest boat in the entire league.