If you’re a fan of the Sacramento Kings, then you are probably the worst/unluckiest/potentially cursed organization in the whole of the NBA. Sure, you might point to the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, who have had their own well-documented struggles.
You might even argue it is better to be in Sacramento than Seattle, who no longer have a franchise. But when part of your argument consists of pointing out that another city no longer has a team to cheer on (although their dress rehearsal to return is coming this year), well, then you know that it is bad.
The last time the Sacramento Kings made the postseason was 2006, meaning the youngest generation of fans of the league have never seen them there.
This was the year that films such as The Departed, Talladega Nights, and Inside Man were released. Cassie, Gnarls Barkley, and an up-and-comer named Rihanna all stormed the charts. Feel old yet? Despite all of this, the Kings somehow lucked into a legitimately special talent in DeMarcus Cousins in 2010. He would play 470 games for the franchise.
In that time, he would average over 21 points and 10 rebounds and shoot a notable-for-its-time 32 percent from deep, which was impressive for a big man. Yet, the Kings could never put the pieces around him to make the playoffs once. In 2022 then, what is different? Well, if you stop laughing for a moment, you will see the Kings have been making the right moves for about 18 months now.
3 reasons why the Sacramento Kings aren’t a laughing stock anymore: 1. Hiring Mike Brown
This is up there with the most recent moves the organization has made, but convincing Mike Brown to leave the juggernaut that is the Golden State Warriors was no mean feat. Perhaps only having to move up the state to coach in Sacramento played a part, but this hiring feels significant.
It isn’t the first time the Kings have looked to the Warriors, though. They hired Luke Walton after he stepped in for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr when he had some back issues, and the team proceeded to go on a fabulous run. Even though Walton deserved some of the credit, you could probably have put your mother in charge of that group, and good things would have happened.
Walton sputtered out with the Kings pretty quickly, but Brown is different. His coaching pedigree includes the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice) and the Los Angeles Lakers. He was in charge of both of these teams at a time when LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were on the rosters and so he will be well used to oversized personalities.
Not that the Kings have any, and really, the likes of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis should be fully invested in what he has to say from the first minute. Brown will also be given the time to shape the roster to his liking, and while the need to get back to the playoffs has never been greater for the Kings (especially after the Sabonis trade), Brown has the experience to get them there.
He is not finished creating the roster in his image, and while it may take a couple of offseasons to do this, getting a known commodity as a head coach to oversee this period was an important get for the Kings. While plenty of other franchises have also improved this summer, the fact the Kings have had no glaring missteps speaks volumes about the direction they’re going.
3 reasons why the Sacramento Kings aren’t a laughing stock anymore: 2. Their recent draft history
Ok, maybe we lied. Already this summer, there were plenty of people taking shots at the Kings selecting Keegan Murray with the fourth overall pick. Especially when Jaden Ivey was still on the board, where he was taken fifth overall by the Detroit Pistons. If reports are to be believed as well, then the Kings could have secured a sizeable return for that fourth pick, such was the admiration other teams had for Ivey.
Now, we are not about to overreact to Summer League, but… Keegan Murray, alongside Paolo Banchero, were the best two players on display in Las Vegas. Will that translate to the league? Maybe not, but when you consider this interview with Chris Haynes, Murray is also saying all of the right things.
He appears to want to be in Sacramento, and while Tyrese Haliburton also spoke similarly before being moved in the Sabonis deal (something that, at this stage, is still hard to defend), getting players to the Kings who want to be there is not easily done. This feeds into the bigger picture here, which is that the Kings have now seemed to draft well in the last two years.
Last season they picked Davion Mitchell, and right away, he contributed. His defensive play had media members raving at a time when there wasn’t much going on in Sacramento. Fox had taken a step back to the point his trade value is lower than it ever has been, and Sabonis was still finding his feet.
Yet there was Mitchell, making winning plays and impacting the game in the right way. When you consider the absolute stinkers the Kings have had in the draft from 2010 – 2020 (outside of Cousins (read it yourself, it is basically unforgivable), then this is a hugely important development.
Even drafting Haliburton in 2020 led to them getting Sabonis, a legitimate All-Star. Their luck is going to start to turn sooner rather than later, and drafting well will be a huge reason why.
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.