The Sacramento Kings have been nothing short of a disaster for the last 25 years. Since all their playoff heartbreaks in the 2000s, they have not been able to recover as a franchise.
The closest thing they have had to a successful season was in 2023, which is when they were a top three seed in the West, and almost knocked off the Golden State Warriors in the first round, but in typical Kings fashion, they blew that team up and fired Mike Brown, traded De’Aaron Fox, and went right back to being cellar dwellers.
Now, Sacramento drafted Darius Acuff Jr. in this year’s draft in order to become their franchise savior. The point guard was one of the more electric talents in all college basketball during his lone season with Arkansas. Now, he is expected to re-light the beam with this organization and much has been made about his shot volume, but
Darius Acuff Jr. taking all of these shots is fine and will allow him to learn the game and get the reps he needs
Also, who else should the Kings be prioritizing right now offensively? Zach LaVine? De’Andre Hunter? The veterans on this roster that likely won’t be on this team in a few months?
Sacramento needs Acuff to become a star and giving him a heavy workload and a the ability to be the lead handler and shooter during his rookie season will speedline that process. Obviously he needs to also pick up good habits along the way.
The offensive process with Acuff has been good. He is mostly taking the right shots and making the right reads. The shooting splits are not great, and he has taken 73 shots on the year, but the shots he is taking are fine. More efficient results will come as he continues to mature and grow as a player.
Also, having him run a two-man game with Domantas Sabonis will teach him the art of the pick and roll and what to look for in those scenarios. Playing in the pocket, the short roll, and how to time his lobs are all things he needs to learn as a point guard. Sabonis will also likely not be on this team during the prime of Acuff’s career and the fit isn’t perfect, but he is by no means a bad pick and roll partner to have.
The Kings need Acuff to pan out in the worst way possible. So allowing him to grow through this mistakes and putting the ball in his hands a ton will help that process. The results won’t be pretty all the time, but the talent and drive is there.
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