Here we publish the preview of the NBA 2024-25 Sacramento Kings. Data, results from the previous season, a look at the squad and future free agents, the objectives of the journey, the player to follow and a prediction on the franchise.
Sacramento Kings
The model
- Movements in the market: Additions of DeMar DeRozan, Jalen McDaniels and Jordan McLaughlin, departures of Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell and Sasha Bezenkov.
- Defense zone: De’Aaron Fox, Devin Carter, Jordan McLaughlin, Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, Colby Jones, Keon Ellis, Isaiah Crawford (double-double), Mason Jones (double-double).
- Attack court: DeMar DeRozan, Jalen McDaniels, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Trey Lyles, Skal Labissiere, Alex Len, Orlando Robinson, Isaac Jones (a doppio sense).
Here’s how they face the season
The 23-24 season was a homecoming of sorts for the Kings after their honeymoon. A return home with the syndrome of fulfilled expectations. After years of talking about the curse and the endless streak without reaching the playoffs, the franchise put an end to its particular drama in 2023 in what it hoped would be the first step of a new era. And then came the return to routine.
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It was inevitable not to feel a certain disappointment in going from third place in the West in 2023 to ninth in 2024. From the struggle until Game 7 against the reigning champions to the fall in the play-in against the Pelicans without Zion. But looking a little more perspective, the truth is that it would be unfair to talk about the transition from one season to the next in such drastic terms. The difference between one path and the other was only two victories (from 48 to 46), but the contexts were so different that those two victories gave rise to two radically different scenarios.
22-23 was a strangely weak season in the West, probably the weakest in many years, and the Kings took advantage of that kind of power vacuum to surge into the top three. But at 23-24 the carnage returns. New powers like OKC or Minnesota have emerged, promising projects like Dallas and Clippers have been resurrected, and teams full of big names like the Lakers and Phoenix have been more consistent than the previous year. And so, with a 46-38 record that would have been third-best 12 months earlier, the Kings became a play-in team. A 46-36 record which, in a much more complicated West, is probably even more noteworthy than 2023’s 48-34.
The fact is that clinging to credit often serves little purpose other than patting yourself on the back smugly and making excuses for not trying to move forward. And with what it cost Sacramento to once again be an upper-middle-range team, they’re not willing to settle for reaching the first round of the playoffs one year and disappearing again. If the entire West became better, it would be its turn to become better.
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Something like this must have been the premise that led the Californians to take over the services of DeMar DeRozan, who arrived in a sign and trade which marked the departure of Harrison Barnes, who on paper represents a notable improvement over the starting five. The striker will bring to the team a greater ability to generate with the ball, not depending so much on Domantas Sabonis as an organizer, as well as a great talent in clutch in which he can form a lethal duo with De’Aaron Fox. But despite these clear improvements, there are doubts regarding his fit into the team’s system.
Sacramento was the best offense in the league in 2023 with an average of offensive rating 118.6 points per 100 possessions, largely thanks to his quick off-ball movements, high volume of 3-pointers and high transition points. And those aren’t exactly three things DeRozan will add to. He is a player with slower movements, with a poor shot from outside and not very dedicated to shooting catch and shootwhich a priori could be counterintuitive in this team, but the truth is that, with several specialists in these fields, it is not essential that the additions are added. Meanwhile, in sections such as post play or mid-range clearances, the improvement is exponential, which can provide a new dimension to an attack that, maintaining its philosophy from the previous year, was already less effective in 2024.
The growth of young people
But DeRozan is not the only improvement that these Kings can cling to, who have two very interesting young profiles whose development can greatly determine their aspirations. The first of these is Keegan Murray, who has just taken on a greater role in his second season in the league but who paradoxically could see his offensive contribution reduced in his third. With the arrival of DeMar there is the possibility that the attacker will be relegated to a more secondary role and more limited to that of an outside shot specialist, which however should not diminish his importance in attack.
His three-point shooting now becomes more decisive for the team, which will depend more on him in this aspect but which in turn will be able to generate better options for him. DeRozan, more prolific near the rim and in the mid-range, has the ability to make opposing defenses play a little tighter than has been usual for the Kings since the arrival of Mike Brown, who can give space to a Murray who it is usually defended by the 4 rivals. So if he can get consistency on an outside shot that has already proven to be quite explosive, he can make the offense even harder to stop.
Keon Ellis, on the other hand, seems capable of giving greater balance to the quintet and becoming the defensive specialist that the Kings didn’t know they had. Last season he emerged almost out of nowhere and became the starter after Kevin Huerter’s injury, and right now it seems reasonable to assume that he can continue to be the starting man alongside Fox even when Huerter returns.
His final season left a great taste in my mouth, thanks in large part to how incredibly strong he can be defensively both on and off the ball, but also because he showed he isn’t just limited to that half of the pitch. With a 45.9% success rate on three-pointers since becoming a consistent starter in March, he has also proven to be a huge threat if the defense gives him too much space, and this will be the year to confirm whether he can maintain that . trend over time. If he does, he could be called upon to make Mike Brown’s team a more solid team defensively without giving up the attacking explosiveness that catapulted them to the top of the table the previous season.
Having said all this, the problem is once again the same: the rest. If these Kings were in the East, it would be much easier to see them return to the playoffs for the title even without making it through the play-ins. But in the West there will not only be a tough battle against rivals who were already at the top last year, but there are also others who want to regain their privileged position like the Grizzlies or young projects who want to explode like the Rockets. That Sacramento will be a better team than the 23-24 season seems clear. But in this conference being slightly better than a year ago doesn’t guarantee anything.
The player to watch
He may not be the best player or the leader of the team, but DeMar DeRozan is the main novelty and therefore his performance will be the one that will be able to score the most as Sacramento grows. Assuming Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox continue at the stellar level they have shown in recent years, believing in these Kings means believing in DeRozan and vice versa. He arrives to prevent the team from stagnating and to give new impetus to the project, now it’s time to see if he will succeed.
It’s not a question of repeating what was said before about the inclusion, but it will be interesting to see how much Brown’s system modifies his game and how much his presence modifies the team’s style. It’s not always easy to find a middle ground in this regard, but fortunately for both of them they had the whole summer to work, adapt to each other and find ways to improve what they can do on the pitch. Now we’ll see how effective he will be compared to what the Kings were a few months ago.
NBA Preview 2024-25 Sacramento Kings, the predictions
The Fox-DeRozan duo in clutch It will help Sacramento achieve many of those games that are decided in the small details. And in such a balanced middle area it will be the small details that make the difference between everything and nothing. I also see them fighting to get into the top six, but ultimately I think they will remain seeded in the play-in.
- Record: between 45 and 48 victories.
- Position: 7th in the West.
- The maximum they aspire to: enter directly into the playoffs.
- If things go badly: being defeated to the point of exiting the play-in. It’s hard, but the West is so hard.
Previous team: Miami Heat. Next team: Golden State Warriors.