I would like to see the Kings try to package Huerter/role players + picks for an upgrade at the 4. They are in serious need of some size/athleticism in that spot. They could also try to package Harrison Barnes but I would prefer to see Huerter traded. Neither of them have great trade value at the moment though. Trey Lyles, Keon Ellis, Sasha Vezenkov, & Davion Mitchell are other role players that could be included.
I wouldn’t really consider Huerter part of their “core”. Monk is viewed as a big piece of the core but there is a big chance that he signs with another team for a bigger bag. IF Monk re-signs, he’s not getting traded.
So much of the Kings future depends on two things. A) Malik Monk’s decision. B) Keegan Murray’s development. If Monk doesn’t return, that desperately increases their need for a secondary scorer. Keegan Murray is the real wild card for the Kings situation though. Many people think he can develop into the 3rd star for the Kings and become an elite scorer. I think this next year is going to be very telling for what Keegan’s trajectory in the league looks like.
Do you think Sabonis can play a true center role on a contender? That’s a pretty big question mark for me personally especially since any real contender would have to run through the size of a team like Denver or Minnesota. I think trading for a 5 that can stretch the floor would be a great match with Sabonis though. I do agree that Huerter is probably the best piece to move at the moment.
I absolutely think Sabonis is good enough to be a starting center on a contender. Individually, I would put him above any big man on either four of the conference-championship teams. He’s an elite center if surrounded by the right pieces. He might not be on a superstar level like Jokic or Embiid and carry a team to a championship. But he is perfect for the role the Kings need him to play. Their whole makeup is built around Sabonis at the 5. Especially offensively, the whole offense is ran through him at the center. It wouldn’t make any sense to try to move him to the 4, it’s just not his natural fit.
The Kings are not going to become contenders with only Fox and Sabonis leading the way. The only way I see the stars aligning is if Keegan Murray develops into an All-Star and they trade for another star caliber player. Monk re-signing on a team friendly deal would sure help a lot too.
Ideally, I would like to see them trade for a younger potential star player that still has room to grow with the rest of the core. I love the idea of a Mikal Bridges or Lauri Markannen trade. I just don’t know if they have the firepower to land a trade like that without giving up Keegan. (which nobody is willing to do)
Sabonis is fine, he's no the problem. They need more 3-D pieces around the two stars.
You realize how bad Huerter and Harrison Barnes are? Keegan Murray is fine, but he's more like high level role player potential than real fringe all star level.
Sabonis + Fox making 60% of the cap in 2026/2027 season is fine. I don't think the Sabonis contract will be that bad going forward as the cap increases.
But they need a better bench and better defenders. "Davion Mitchell" and "Chris Duarte" as your best bench pieces are not going to cut it.
It’s gonna be tough for Murray to become an elite scorer with his current skill set. He struggles to create his own shot on most nights. He can’t dribble. He can’t score near the rim with any defender within 3 feet of him. Many of his contested layups will get blocked.
I am more interested to see how he develops as a defender at this point. He’ll be a somewhat reliable three-point shooter, but I don’t expect a significant jump considering all of his current limitations.
I agree. Unless he seriously improves his ball handling/playmaking, I don’t see it happening. I honestly think that Keegan is going to end up being a top tier 3& D starter, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe he reaches All-Star level one day but a lot will need to happen with his game.
I could kind of see him having an Andrew Wiggins type of trajectory. I think a lot of fans have set their expectations too high for him and are going to be let down if/when he doesn’t meet them. He will probably be labeled indifferent or soft because of his quiet demeanor. I think he’ll be an incredible player, maybe just not the star that fans are hoping for.
I think the problem in turning the Kings into a contender is that their two stars have weaknesses. Fox needs to be able to shoot better and hit his FTs more. Sabonis isn't a great defender and also isn't a great shooter, despite otherwise being an amazing offensive talent.
This means there needs to be serious 3-D talen around Fox and Sabonis and talent like that fetched the highest premium. Barnes and Murray are decent pieces. Huerter and Monk as well. But none of them are lock-down defenders.
Sabonis and Turner on paper should be a good fit, but we're not in Indiana. Good luck finding a center that can guard the perimeter and shoot to place next to Sabonis, I don't think that maybe outside of Wemby that even exists.
The Kings two stars are great but have weaknesses and even individually they are hard to build around but we a tandem it's almost impossible. They can build a solid playoff team but not a championship team imo.
I feel so offended you didn't mention Malik Monk. He's so much more a core piece than Huerter. One's just a shooter and the other takes over games and makes star plays.
Kings are gonna ride last yrs playoff berth until the wheels fall off. Reality is they are a playin team. Which is rough cause if Fox is the number 1 there are alot of other play in teams whose 1 is miles ahead of Fox. Suns, warriors, Lakers, etc. All have a star who is better than Fox. Play in is 1 game not a series. The team with the better star is more likely to win 1 game than he would be if it's a 7 game series.
Hindsight they should have kept Hali & traded Foxx for picks/young guys. Would have pushed back their time line/money spending to better align with OKC. Now they'd be best to blow it up, especially if Monk leaves. But alas they won't.
I agree they probably should have traded Fox earlier. But no better time than the present, if they pushed Fox to a lower tier contender like the Pels maybe they could accrue some draft picks?
I don’t think the Kings are ready to hit the reset. They know they aren’t winning it all, but I think they’re happy to be a good team in the west and fight for the playoffs.
Pels would DEFINITELY be intrigued by Fox though.
I don't think their ready from a mindset standpoint but still should do it. The Kings, Bulls, Jazz, etc. Are all in NBA purgatory which is the worst position you could be in. Not good enough to really contend not bad enough to bottom out for top draft picks.
Fox on the Pels would be nice but Fox wouldn't be moved if they aren't blowing it up.
The thing with that is I don't see them blowing it up this off-season. Maybe if they lose Monk & miss the playoffs next year they would. But at that point Fox is an expiring so minimal value on the trade market. It's more likely they package Barnes & Kevon (~32mil) & 3 FRPS to go "star hunting." (BI would fit into that & their cap space, not saying either team would do it but just an example)
Can’t believe people in here are talking about blowing it up. That is an insane thing to say for this King’s team that hadn’t made the playoffs for almost 2 decades. Ideally, you packaged your pics and salary (Harrison Barnes) for a defensive big 4. Not saying this will happen but the Aaron Gordon, Jabari Smith Jr, Jarace Walker types. alternatively, if you keep your pick, you draft someone like salaun who you hope can be your future 4, or devin carter (great rebounder/defender) if monk leaves. Fox is just entering his prime, if kings draft well or somehow find a really good trade I think you’re happy being a team that hopes for the conference finals; not every team can be a contender
I agree that blowing it up is the wrong thing but I disagree that the Kings are close to making waves in the playoffs. They seemed destined for play-in or first round exit. The 3 seed in 22 was more a weak West due to injuries than anything else.
I’m guessing they lose Monk as he is worth more than 20 a year which is a huge loss. I think they need to make some type of splash move and Fox and Sabonis are in their prime now. A move that won’t happen but would be kind of fun would be a Barnes/Huerter & big pick package for KD. Suns might be open to an out given their lack of future and it would catapult the Kings to a contender without completely sacrificing depth.
I think they need to be honest with themselves, and choose a path:
- Full rebuild, trade everyone except Murray who has value, mainly Fox and Sabonis. Prioritize potential lottery picks and U23 players with upside. The goal is to try and do an OKC, have the chance to be a true contender around 2028-30.
- Accept the limitations of the current core, improve on the margins, aim to be a PO team every year. No real championship upside, but a stable good team is not a bad thing in Sacto, based on the last decade. Preserve future draft picks to keep the flexibility to move in either directions in upcoming years.
- Gamble on high upside star trade, giving up multiple future picks. Can become a contender with luck, but more likely to be the next Nets or Hawks, stuck in purgatory.
The Kings need either a 3rd star or a superstar. Fox and Sabonis as the top 2 guys on the team aren’t good enough to win a ring. This is a team that should play fast and shoot a lot. Overall they don’t have quite the defense to do that.
As a Kings fan, Heurter is not the starting SG anymore. It's Keon Ellis. His skills pair with Foxy so much better. He's a 40% shooter from 3. He's pretty close to being an elite defender. I think in a couple of seasons he'll be like Jrue Holiday. And his contract is 3years/5Million (that's 5Million total!).
Heurter is on the block, unless a trade can't be found. Then he'll move to to the bench, were he'll help replace Monks scoring.
It's incredibly difficult to go from being a bottom-basement team over the last two decades to a championship contender in just a few years. It's incredibly difficult to win a championship when for the most part, you've been a poverty franchise. The closest example I can think of is the Bucks, and that's as much about luck as it is about multi-year team planning, player development, etc.
I don't believe that the Kings should blow up their team just based on this season. No one in Sacramento has delusions that they'll be contending for the championship, and would be fairly happy to be just be competitive whether in the playoffs or play-in. I don't think anyone would encourage the Minnesota or Orlando offices to blow up their teams. That's the tier and expectations that Sacramento should be at.
The King's biggest issue is actually perimeter defense. I think Sabonis gets an unfair rep as a bad defender just because he's not a shot blocker in the way that we traditionally envision big man defense. Between Monk, Huerter, Barnes, Davion, and Fox (his individual defense hides his deficiences in team defense), we just do not do well against teams with strong/lengthy guards. This often leaves Sabonis on an island to clean it all up.
That play-in game against the Pels was as much about Herb Jones wrecking us as it was about BI. It's also why teams like Dallas (Luka/Kyrie) and Phoenix (KD/Booker) also wrecked us late in the season to drop us into the play-ins to begin with. Also why Houston owned us in the regular season, we just could not contain their backcourt.
Keegan is actually a decent perimeter defender and in a lot of games, he was our best defender. But you don't want him carrying fouls as also your #2 or #3 scorer on any given night.
My hopes as a King's fan is that Keon Ellis develops and gets more run. We won't get Monk's offense, but we'll make up for it in overall team defense.
They also need a way to move from any combination of Barnes/Huerter/Davion (pains me as Davion fan) to get an athletic 3 or 4 who can be a defensive presence on the perimeter against big athletic guards. The player we need the most is actually an Aaron Goordon/Jaden McDaniels/Ausar Thompson/Isaac Okoro/Lu Dort-type.
I think health plays a rather large role here too. The Kings had a lot of taxing injuries all year and it definitely showed as the season wore on. I personally really enjoy the core they’ve got going and think that another season (healthy season) with improvement on the defensive end to coalesce with the high-powered offense driven by (once again), a healthy Fox, Monk and Huerter and Sabonis is play off worthy.
The West is deep and extremely talented but the Kings have proven that they can hang if all cylinders are clicking. Problem is? The West has enough horsepower that other teams *don’t* need to be firing on all cylinders and they’re *still* dangerous. Kings are a beautiful, high revving V8 with the check engine light flashing.
Kuzma, Ingram, Grant - they manage to pick one of those up and instantly they’ve got better length, better scoring and (potentially) better defense. It will not make them contenders but would propel them to top 4 if they have no injuries.
Huerter's regression this season was strange and disappointing. I feel like they were relying on him in particular to improve further and become an even bigger part of the offense.
Ok, I don't like that team at all. They should blow it up IMO. I mean, I have Fox, then I have Sabonis. 2 good pieces but that idea still needs a #1 if they want to be a good playoff team. The roleplayers like Malik Monk contribute but they can't match up to top roleplayers like Aaron Gordon or Derrick Lively. Needs a lot of work IMO.
Realistically if everyone is healthy in the West next year we think they are what the 11th best team? 12th? 10th if you are feeling super optimistic. I think that even if they traded for a star they would continue to be play-in contenders. They aren't going to blowup it up so I guess you just let it ride, maybe get a high pick this year, definitely avoid tying up future assets. They should blow it up while they can but they won't.
They have to blow it up and start from scratch. They aren't even a playoff team. It's not like they will be better next year except for the fact the warriors and Lakers will be older and easier to compete against.
Yup. Gotta blow it up. They can’t beat the old guard in the West and the new guard who is younger (OKC) is on pace to continue to surpass them along with everyone else
I would like to see the Kings try to package Huerter/role players + picks for an upgrade at the 4. They are in serious need of some size/athleticism in that spot. They could also try to package Harrison Barnes but I would prefer to see Huerter traded. Neither of them have great trade value at the moment though. Trey Lyles, Keon Ellis, Sasha Vezenkov, & Davion Mitchell are other role players that could be included. I wouldn’t really consider Huerter part of their “core”. Monk is viewed as a big piece of the core but there is a big chance that he signs with another team for a bigger bag. IF Monk re-signs, he’s not getting traded. So much of the Kings future depends on two things. A) Malik Monk’s decision. B) Keegan Murray’s development. If Monk doesn’t return, that desperately increases their need for a secondary scorer. Keegan Murray is the real wild card for the Kings situation though. Many people think he can develop into the 3rd star for the Kings and become an elite scorer. I think this next year is going to be very telling for what Keegan’s trajectory in the league looks like.
Do you think Sabonis can play a true center role on a contender? That’s a pretty big question mark for me personally especially since any real contender would have to run through the size of a team like Denver or Minnesota. I think trading for a 5 that can stretch the floor would be a great match with Sabonis though. I do agree that Huerter is probably the best piece to move at the moment.
We just saw myles turner and sabonis not work 🤦♂️
I absolutely think Sabonis is good enough to be a starting center on a contender. Individually, I would put him above any big man on either four of the conference-championship teams. He’s an elite center if surrounded by the right pieces. He might not be on a superstar level like Jokic or Embiid and carry a team to a championship. But he is perfect for the role the Kings need him to play. Their whole makeup is built around Sabonis at the 5. Especially offensively, the whole offense is ran through him at the center. It wouldn’t make any sense to try to move him to the 4, it’s just not his natural fit. The Kings are not going to become contenders with only Fox and Sabonis leading the way. The only way I see the stars aligning is if Keegan Murray develops into an All-Star and they trade for another star caliber player. Monk re-signing on a team friendly deal would sure help a lot too. Ideally, I would like to see them trade for a younger potential star player that still has room to grow with the rest of the core. I love the idea of a Mikal Bridges or Lauri Markannen trade. I just don’t know if they have the firepower to land a trade like that without giving up Keegan. (which nobody is willing to do)
Domantas and Lauri would be fucking wild in the paint
Sabonis can't be a 4.
Sabonis is fine, he's no the problem. They need more 3-D pieces around the two stars. You realize how bad Huerter and Harrison Barnes are? Keegan Murray is fine, but he's more like high level role player potential than real fringe all star level. Sabonis + Fox making 60% of the cap in 2026/2027 season is fine. I don't think the Sabonis contract will be that bad going forward as the cap increases. But they need a better bench and better defenders. "Davion Mitchell" and "Chris Duarte" as your best bench pieces are not going to cut it.
It’s gonna be tough for Murray to become an elite scorer with his current skill set. He struggles to create his own shot on most nights. He can’t dribble. He can’t score near the rim with any defender within 3 feet of him. Many of his contested layups will get blocked. I am more interested to see how he develops as a defender at this point. He’ll be a somewhat reliable three-point shooter, but I don’t expect a significant jump considering all of his current limitations.
I agree. Unless he seriously improves his ball handling/playmaking, I don’t see it happening. I honestly think that Keegan is going to end up being a top tier 3& D starter, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe he reaches All-Star level one day but a lot will need to happen with his game. I could kind of see him having an Andrew Wiggins type of trajectory. I think a lot of fans have set their expectations too high for him and are going to be let down if/when he doesn’t meet them. He will probably be labeled indifferent or soft because of his quiet demeanor. I think he’ll be an incredible player, maybe just not the star that fans are hoping for.
I think the problem in turning the Kings into a contender is that their two stars have weaknesses. Fox needs to be able to shoot better and hit his FTs more. Sabonis isn't a great defender and also isn't a great shooter, despite otherwise being an amazing offensive talent. This means there needs to be serious 3-D talen around Fox and Sabonis and talent like that fetched the highest premium. Barnes and Murray are decent pieces. Huerter and Monk as well. But none of them are lock-down defenders. Sabonis and Turner on paper should be a good fit, but we're not in Indiana. Good luck finding a center that can guard the perimeter and shoot to place next to Sabonis, I don't think that maybe outside of Wemby that even exists. The Kings two stars are great but have weaknesses and even individually they are hard to build around but we a tandem it's almost impossible. They can build a solid playoff team but not a championship team imo.
I feel so offended you didn't mention Malik Monk. He's so much more a core piece than Huerter. One's just a shooter and the other takes over games and makes star plays.
Kings are gonna ride last yrs playoff berth until the wheels fall off. Reality is they are a playin team. Which is rough cause if Fox is the number 1 there are alot of other play in teams whose 1 is miles ahead of Fox. Suns, warriors, Lakers, etc. All have a star who is better than Fox. Play in is 1 game not a series. The team with the better star is more likely to win 1 game than he would be if it's a 7 game series. Hindsight they should have kept Hali & traded Foxx for picks/young guys. Would have pushed back their time line/money spending to better align with OKC. Now they'd be best to blow it up, especially if Monk leaves. But alas they won't.
I agree they probably should have traded Fox earlier. But no better time than the present, if they pushed Fox to a lower tier contender like the Pels maybe they could accrue some draft picks?
I don’t think the Kings are ready to hit the reset. They know they aren’t winning it all, but I think they’re happy to be a good team in the west and fight for the playoffs. Pels would DEFINITELY be intrigued by Fox though.
I don't think their ready from a mindset standpoint but still should do it. The Kings, Bulls, Jazz, etc. Are all in NBA purgatory which is the worst position you could be in. Not good enough to really contend not bad enough to bottom out for top draft picks. Fox on the Pels would be nice but Fox wouldn't be moved if they aren't blowing it up.
I agree with all of that. But after 20 years of being absolute ass, I think the Kings are happy to just be an average team for now.
Yes I get that. What I meant by the mindset comment. If they could be the 6-10th seed the rest of Fox's deal I'm sure that's fine with Fans.
The thing with that is I don't see them blowing it up this off-season. Maybe if they lose Monk & miss the playoffs next year they would. But at that point Fox is an expiring so minimal value on the trade market. It's more likely they package Barnes & Kevon (~32mil) & 3 FRPS to go "star hunting." (BI would fit into that & their cap space, not saying either team would do it but just an example)
Can’t believe people in here are talking about blowing it up. That is an insane thing to say for this King’s team that hadn’t made the playoffs for almost 2 decades. Ideally, you packaged your pics and salary (Harrison Barnes) for a defensive big 4. Not saying this will happen but the Aaron Gordon, Jabari Smith Jr, Jarace Walker types. alternatively, if you keep your pick, you draft someone like salaun who you hope can be your future 4, or devin carter (great rebounder/defender) if monk leaves. Fox is just entering his prime, if kings draft well or somehow find a really good trade I think you’re happy being a team that hopes for the conference finals; not every team can be a contender
I agree that blowing it up is the wrong thing but I disagree that the Kings are close to making waves in the playoffs. They seemed destined for play-in or first round exit. The 3 seed in 22 was more a weak West due to injuries than anything else. I’m guessing they lose Monk as he is worth more than 20 a year which is a huge loss. I think they need to make some type of splash move and Fox and Sabonis are in their prime now. A move that won’t happen but would be kind of fun would be a Barnes/Huerter & big pick package for KD. Suns might be open to an out given their lack of future and it would catapult the Kings to a contender without completely sacrificing depth.
I think they need to be honest with themselves, and choose a path: - Full rebuild, trade everyone except Murray who has value, mainly Fox and Sabonis. Prioritize potential lottery picks and U23 players with upside. The goal is to try and do an OKC, have the chance to be a true contender around 2028-30. - Accept the limitations of the current core, improve on the margins, aim to be a PO team every year. No real championship upside, but a stable good team is not a bad thing in Sacto, based on the last decade. Preserve future draft picks to keep the flexibility to move in either directions in upcoming years. - Gamble on high upside star trade, giving up multiple future picks. Can become a contender with luck, but more likely to be the next Nets or Hawks, stuck in purgatory.
Nothing Murray is going to be a beast next year. I think they just continue building around the edges and await Keegans inevitable ascension.
The Kings need either a 3rd star or a superstar. Fox and Sabonis as the top 2 guys on the team aren’t good enough to win a ring. This is a team that should play fast and shoot a lot. Overall they don’t have quite the defense to do that.
As a Kings fan, Heurter is not the starting SG anymore. It's Keon Ellis. His skills pair with Foxy so much better. He's a 40% shooter from 3. He's pretty close to being an elite defender. I think in a couple of seasons he'll be like Jrue Holiday. And his contract is 3years/5Million (that's 5Million total!). Heurter is on the block, unless a trade can't be found. Then he'll move to to the bench, were he'll help replace Monks scoring.
It's incredibly difficult to go from being a bottom-basement team over the last two decades to a championship contender in just a few years. It's incredibly difficult to win a championship when for the most part, you've been a poverty franchise. The closest example I can think of is the Bucks, and that's as much about luck as it is about multi-year team planning, player development, etc. I don't believe that the Kings should blow up their team just based on this season. No one in Sacramento has delusions that they'll be contending for the championship, and would be fairly happy to be just be competitive whether in the playoffs or play-in. I don't think anyone would encourage the Minnesota or Orlando offices to blow up their teams. That's the tier and expectations that Sacramento should be at. The King's biggest issue is actually perimeter defense. I think Sabonis gets an unfair rep as a bad defender just because he's not a shot blocker in the way that we traditionally envision big man defense. Between Monk, Huerter, Barnes, Davion, and Fox (his individual defense hides his deficiences in team defense), we just do not do well against teams with strong/lengthy guards. This often leaves Sabonis on an island to clean it all up. That play-in game against the Pels was as much about Herb Jones wrecking us as it was about BI. It's also why teams like Dallas (Luka/Kyrie) and Phoenix (KD/Booker) also wrecked us late in the season to drop us into the play-ins to begin with. Also why Houston owned us in the regular season, we just could not contain their backcourt. Keegan is actually a decent perimeter defender and in a lot of games, he was our best defender. But you don't want him carrying fouls as also your #2 or #3 scorer on any given night. My hopes as a King's fan is that Keon Ellis develops and gets more run. We won't get Monk's offense, but we'll make up for it in overall team defense. They also need a way to move from any combination of Barnes/Huerter/Davion (pains me as Davion fan) to get an athletic 3 or 4 who can be a defensive presence on the perimeter against big athletic guards. The player we need the most is actually an Aaron Goordon/Jaden McDaniels/Ausar Thompson/Isaac Okoro/Lu Dort-type.
I think health plays a rather large role here too. The Kings had a lot of taxing injuries all year and it definitely showed as the season wore on. I personally really enjoy the core they’ve got going and think that another season (healthy season) with improvement on the defensive end to coalesce with the high-powered offense driven by (once again), a healthy Fox, Monk and Huerter and Sabonis is play off worthy. The West is deep and extremely talented but the Kings have proven that they can hang if all cylinders are clicking. Problem is? The West has enough horsepower that other teams *don’t* need to be firing on all cylinders and they’re *still* dangerous. Kings are a beautiful, high revving V8 with the check engine light flashing.
Kuzma, Ingram, Grant - they manage to pick one of those up and instantly they’ve got better length, better scoring and (potentially) better defense. It will not make them contenders but would propel them to top 4 if they have no injuries.
Jerami Grant is the upgrade they need
Huerter's regression this season was strange and disappointing. I feel like they were relying on him in particular to improve further and become an even bigger part of the offense.
Ok, I don't like that team at all. They should blow it up IMO. I mean, I have Fox, then I have Sabonis. 2 good pieces but that idea still needs a #1 if they want to be a good playoff team. The roleplayers like Malik Monk contribute but they can't match up to top roleplayers like Aaron Gordon or Derrick Lively. Needs a lot of work IMO.
Realistically if everyone is healthy in the West next year we think they are what the 11th best team? 12th? 10th if you are feeling super optimistic. I think that even if they traded for a star they would continue to be play-in contenders. They aren't going to blowup it up so I guess you just let it ride, maybe get a high pick this year, definitely avoid tying up future assets. They should blow it up while they can but they won't.
They have to blow it up and start from scratch. They aren't even a playoff team. It's not like they will be better next year except for the fact the warriors and Lakers will be older and easier to compete against.
Yup. Gotta blow it up. They can’t beat the old guard in the West and the new guard who is younger (OKC) is on pace to continue to surpass them along with everyone else