The Sacramento Kings are entering year two of what seems like high relevancy in NBA circles. After finishing 39-43, the Kings ended last season as the 9th seed. At the All-Star break, the Kings were at their best point to make the playoffs before a late season collapse eliminated them from contention. Fast forward a few months later and now the Kings enter the season with loads of questions. Can the Kings make the playoffs? Can De’Aaron Fox make the leap to star player? Where will the Kings finish the season? Loads of questions and only a few answers.
De’Aaron Fox
Lets start with the biggest positive moving forward. De’Aaron Fox’s potential is through the roof to enter into elite status among some of the game’s top point guards. Fox was drafted to the Kings as the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. During his rookie year, Fox averaged 11.6 PPG, 4.4 APG, on 41% from the field and 30% from the three point line. In year two, Fox’s numbers increased massively which is why the potential to become a star point guard is very likely.
Fox averaged 17.3 PPG, 7.3 APG, on 45% from the field and 37% from the three point line during his sophomore campaign. In addition to that, Fox is participating with Team USA during the summer where reports show that he has performed like a “stud” during summer trying camps for the team.
Fox also has shown consistency in two key areas. One, he has stayed extremely healthy to start off his career. He has played in 154 total games and only missed 10 games while playing and starting in 81 games last season. Second, Fox finished ninth in SPG with 1.6 per game which landed him at ninth in the league and finishing with 133 total. This was an improvement from 1.0 per game during his rookie year.
So what’s the next step for Fox?
Year three could very well be the first time that Fox averages 20+ PPG in his career thus far. This will serve well for Fox as he will make his attempt to being in that discussion of elite point guards. The 7.3 APG placed Fox at eighth in the league in that department.
Fox likely will command more double teams as he becomes an even better scorer as well as mixing in his ability to use his speed which will open even more to show off his vision and play making ability. Fox just in this year alone could creep up to close to 10 assists or more per game.
Defensive wise, the potential is there as well. With the use of his speed to recover quickly on bad plays and quickly get down the court to use his hands, Fox could become one the NBA’s best deflection getters. Similar to players like Allen Iverson, John Wall, and Westbrook, Fox will be able to use his speed to keep him near the top of the steals charts.
An area of concern for the The Sacramento Kings will come from the line as Fox made major strides to get to the free throw line with nearly six attempts per game. He currently is a 72% free throw shooter which is average for a guard. He will quickly need to improve that area of his game if he wants to continue his fast arrival in the league.
Though many have compared Fox to Wall because of their lighting quick speeds, another comparison that could be fair is Russell Westbrook. Not the same kind of athlete, but statistics could look very similar when evaluating both players first three years in the league outside of Fox being a much more polished shooter early in his career. Year three was also the year that Westbrook averaged 20+ PPG for the first time in his career.
The Supporting Cast
Three players stand out who need to be the main players to help Fox in order for the Kings to make a playoff push.
One is Buddy Hield. Buddy Buckets has been known for primarily one consistent throughout his career even dating back as far as college. Scoring the basketball. Hield was the leading scorer for the Kings last year and lone player to average 20+ per game at 20.7. He also was the only Kings player to shoot above 40% from the three point line as he 42.7% of the threes he attempted which landed him seventh in the league. For more reasons than one, Hield’s scoring will open up more options for the Kings as a unit with his natural ability to score. He will need to continue his growth as a scorer or remain highly consistent following a solid year last year.
Second, Marvin Bagley III. With being the second overall pick in last year’s draft, high expectation will be placed on Bagley III to make a huge leap if the Kings want to make a playoff push. Unfairly or not, he will need to quickly improve from rookie season in which he averaged close to 15 PPG while adding almost 8 RPG. An area that the Kings could benefit greatly in Bagley III’s development is rim protection.
With Wille Cauley-Stien departing for Golden State and no current center being on the roster, Bagley III could very well see more playing time playing some as a center. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine as he stands 6’11 with a 7’1 wingspan. As a combo forward, he averaged 1.0 block per game and blocked a total of 59 shots. At minimum, Bagley III’s development may play just as big of a role as Fox if the Kings want success.
Finally, Harrison Barnes needs to prove he’s worth the money. This could very well be the last time fans will see Harrison Barnes with a contract as outrageous as his newly signed 100+ million dollar deal that will see him make 24M in just this year alone. The kings may regret the move down the road, but for now HB needs to prove his worth.
During his two and half year run with the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to the Kings mid-season, Barnes averaged 18.7 points per game but failed to bring much else to the table. In his first full rotation with the Kings, Barnes will likely start but will need to adjust with as many people on the Kings that will command the ball. With the overload of players that the Kings have that can play the three or the four, this could lead to problems for Barnes as well if the organization decides to mix the lineups up.
These three players as well as newly signed players Trevor Ariza and Cory Joseph and key return player Bogdan Bogdanovic will have to have big years.
Where the Problems Stand
The Kings major issue comes from one main area of concern.
The Western Conference. From the growth of several teams and the new key arrivals on others, the Kings will be in a very tough spot going forward.
Four teams come back with almost identical teams as last year as the Kings along with the Suns, Timberwolves, and Nuggets have brought back close to the same players outside of draft picks and a few new signees. The Nuggets are the only team out of this group that made the playoffs and will look to continue their growth and make strong pushes for years to come.
The Golden State Warriors, Los Angles Clippers and Lakers, Houston Rockets, and Utah Jazz all added star players. While all of these teams will likely make the playoffs, this could spell bad news for the Kings competing for one of the lower playoff spots as losing multiple times against these improved units will hurt their chances.
Teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder added key pieces as well that will keep them contending for the middle and lower playoff seeds. The San Antonio Spurs come back with virtually the same unit.
The biggest issue comes from the other teams that didn’t make the playoffs with the Kings.
The Lakers as mentioned earlier added a star in Anthony Davis after finishing last season as the 10th seed. This likely won’t happen again that the Lakers won’t see playoff action. The Timberwolves will fight for one of the lower seeds but could very well finish with a worse record. The Pelicans, Grizzlies and Mavericks all come back with teams that look nothing as to how they looked at the end of last season. With that improvement, all three teams will all fight for playoff spots to prove that their team belongs as these teams bring youth to the table.
The Kings are a team that could quickly be on the rise. This year will serve crucial for them as the look to try and make a playoff spot. With the amount of teams that saw overall major changes, the Kings may just not have enough explosiveness yet to push for a playoff spot. Only time will tell for this young unit, but one thing is concrete that this team will be an interesting watch moving forward.
