Titles, titles, titles. Legacy, accomplishments, and being recognized. None of those things matter to you if you play for the Sacramento Kings. Not because they shouldn’t strive for those things, they should, but because the NBA doesn’t respect them. It took them having an incredibly historic season, a validated trade, and a beam to garner some respect. Now the hype after one season has worn off. Better stats were produced by both Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, a fifth seed in the west, yet neither of these things was good enough to get them into the All-Star game.
Kings fans were told for years that your record matters when voting for All-Stars. DeMarcus Cousins produced All-Star numbers, but guess what, the Kings weren’t good enough. Out of the seven All-Star reserves, three are on teams with a worse record than the Kings. Two starters are also on worse teams than the Kings.
The head coaches for the 30 teams vote on these reserves which means either there is massive disrespect for the Kings’ two snubs (Fox and Sabonis) or they don’t value the storyline of the Kings this season.
Stats
Of the two snubs, Sabonis is the most glaring. He’s second in the NBA in triple-doubles, he’s first in rebounds, seventh in assists, and not even in the top 50 for usage. Some players thrive with the ball constantly in their hands, so they’ll put up high numbers. Think Trea Young, Luka Doncic, and Houston-era James Harden. For Sabonis, this isn’t the case. Yes, admittedly the offense runs through him but he isn’t a ball-dominant player.
At the time of writing Sabonis is averaging 19.9 points a game. That is about a point better than last year. His field goal percentage has also stayed the same from last year, and he is averaging about one more assist than last season. The eye test tells me he’s better too. Sabonis is more comfortable in this Kings’ offense and is taking on more of an offensive burden on nights other players don’t have it.
With all the debate around the NBA’s new minimum number of games played to qualify for postseason awards, Sabonis has played in every game. He is consistently whacked in the head going up for layups and falling in games. Still, Sabonis has played in every game. There are no minimum game requirements for the All-Star game.
Kings Season So Far
At the time of writing, the Sacramento Kings are 10 games above .500. They are fifth in the Western Conference, but they don’t have the same buzz as they did last season. A lot of it has to do with the team not making any new changes in the off-season. Also, other teams like the Thunder, Clippers, and Timberwolves significantly improved. The Kings just aren’t the new kid on the block like they were last year, a year that saw them break their 17-year playoff drought.
Another product of the Kings’ seemingly “disappointing” season is expectations. Their defensive rating ranking has quietly jumped from 24th to 17th overall this season. They’ve seen individuals like Keegan Murray make major strides on that end. Their offense which broke records last year, now ranks 14th in offensive net rating. The team’s point differential is only 51. People expected a jump from the Kings, but that hasn’t happened. The general response from fans is that the Kings should make a trade(more on that later) but with no obvious big-name star available that would fit the Kings, it seems they’d be rushing a move.
Identity
When I say the Denver Nuggets, NBA fans know their identity, it’s built around the genius of Nikola Jokic. The Heat have “Heat Culture,” the Knicks are built around their defensive stoutness. The Kings don’t have an identity this year. It’s the second year under Mike Brown and he spoke of improving the defense. The Kings could be sacrificing offense to improve the defense.
However, with the blatant snubs of Fox and Sabonis, there is a chance that an old identity of the Kings shall come back. Sacramento versus everybody. This has long been a Kings’ calling card while the fans were going through a potential relocation to Seattle. Now there is a chance that the players realize that they are the underdogs, the team that is doubted, the “no one believes in us,” team.
This identity could energize the team to lock in for the second half of the season. A competitive Western Conference hurts the Kings, but iron sharpens iron.
Trade Deadline
The Kings have been rumored to make a few moves so far this season, but haven’t done anything yet. It was thought that the Kings were going to trade for Pascal Siakam, (A move I would’ve disapproved of) but it seems as if he wouldn’t resign with them in the offseason. Another player that the Kings have been linked with heavily is Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma is having a great year on a bad team. If he was put in this team to upgrade their defense and provide scoring, I could see that working.
When the Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton two seasons ago, no one saw that coming. There is a chance that general manager Monte McNair has something up his sleeve for a player fans aren’t expecting.
With the trade deadline being three days away, the Kings are a bit hamstrung with trading picks due to protections in the Kevin Huerter trade. No trade right now will make the Kings title contenders in my opinion. The best move it seems is no move. Wait until the summer for more players to become available, and the inevitable superstar we aren’t considering right now to become unhappy.
Featured Image: Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
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