Could this be the season that the Sacramento Kings actually snap their playoff drought? The Kings haven’t made the postseason in 16 years, which is now the longest playoff drought in the history of the NBA. Desperate to snap that streak, Sacramento has made some major moves in the last few months.
Ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, they acquired Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers. He is a two-time All-Star, but parting ways with up-and-coming point guard Tyrese Haliburton had many people panning that as a losing trade for the Kings. In the offseason, they acquired Kevin Huerter from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Justin Holiday, Maurice Harkless and a future first-round pick.
The biggest move that the Kings made, however, was bringing in Mike Brown as head coach. For years this is a franchise that has been unable to stop opponents from scoring the ball. Their defense has held them back from finding any sustained success. Brown, a defensive-minded head coach, was a good pick to fix that.
However, it seems like the biggest impact he is having is on the offense. Spending six seasons as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors has helped him grow and develop as a head coach, improving on the weaknesses that he had while leading the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis & Sacramento Kings Updates
There is no LeBron James on this roster as there were the first five seasons he coached the Cavaliers, but the Kings are finding a lot of success. Currently, 13-10 on the season, an NBA scout that spoke to NBA Analysis Network pinpointed what has helped the Kings turn things around this season.
“There’s a lot to like about how the Kings approach things offensively. They added much-needed sharpshooting in the offseason and have fully unleashed it beyond having better floor spacing for Fox or Sabonis to go to work. Significant layers to the Kings’ offense weren’t there in the past but are there now. Teams must play a chess match solving for Sabonis on the roll while maintaining positioning to account for shooters when screening counters are deployed. Again, it’s a night and day difference from years past where you have to actually pick your poison.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis & Sacramento Kings Updates
Huerter has been a perfect fit in the lineup between De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis as a floor-spacer that opens things up for them to operate. He is taking full advantage of the attention that Fox and Sabonis draw, knocking down 42.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and averaging three makes per game.
Fox has also taken that next step in his development. Things were a bit clunky at times when he was sharing the court with Haliburton, but he is now playing the most efficient basketball of his career, putting up his best shooting numbers across the board while ceding some shot attempts to his teammates.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis & Sacramento Kings Updates
Sacramento has been streaky this season, as they have winning and losing streaks of at least three games already this season. Luckily for them, the winning streaks have been longer than the losing ones, which is why they currently have a winning record. Finding some more consistency would go a long way, but everyone within that organization has to be happy about how things have transpired thus far in the Brown era.
