Sacramento's sudden solace
The process of trading a 21-year-old guard on the verge of stardom is not an easy one to align with. Especially one who makes plays like this:
But the earliest results of the Kings’ deadline decisions are proving that sometimes, you just need to swing the bat.
It would’ve been very difficult to write about the Kings just a week ago. Tyrese Haliburton was the one beam of light of a franchise stuck in the darkness. The roster around him made little sense, as he was stuck in lineups with multiple other point guards and too many average bigs. De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento’s star-by-committee, took a frustrating step back in efficiency. The team needed a star, and Haliburton filled the role. In doing so, the Kings may have set themselves up for an even brighter future.
The two deals Sacramento made during deadline week allowed them to turn Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Tristan Thompson, Marvin Bagley III, and various second round picks into Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, Donte DiVincenzo, Trey Lyles, and Josh Jackson.
Outside of Sabonis and DiVincenzo, some of those names may give you pause. We’re really declaring Sacramento a team on the rise by adding Josh Jackson? Yes, we are — because the Kings suddenly and finally look like an NBA team.
The Kings’ three most important developmental pieces were point guards, all deserving of minutes but capped out because of each other’s presence. Now, the Kings run their offense through a big man who makes guards better. De’Aaron Fox tends to put his head down on the way to the rim, but those possessions are few and far between now that they have Sabonis to make most of the decisions on offense.
Sabonis’ first game in Sacramento paints an awesome picture of what the future of their offense might look like:
The Haliburton-Sabonis swap also added Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday to the Kings’ growing list of bucket-getters. Both already have several years’ worth of chemistry with Sabonis’ high-post operation and low-post punishment. By sending Marvin Bagley III to Detroit, they opened up the space to bring in Donte DiVincenzo (who almost was sent to Sacramento as part of a tampering-riddled backdoor deal with Milwaukee) and Trey Lyles as impactful bench pieces to get a look at before next season.
There were a lot of S-words to call the Kings’ franchise before these moves: stupid, shitty, stuck, straining, sunk, silly, stagnant and suffocating.
Now? The word might be smart.
Sacramento can close games around Sabonis and Fox with Jeremy Lamb, Harrison Barnes, and either Richaun Holmes, Justin Holiday, or Donte DiVincenzo depending on the night. On the bench, Davion Mitchell has room to develop as a backup guard and defensive hound. Any of Trey Lyles, Terence Davis, Chimezie Metu or Damian Jones can give them something off the bench.
They might not have the ammo to make any serious noise in the West as currently constructed — this year or next. But after years of laying dormant, too good for a top pick but too bad to make the postseason, the Kings finally chose a direction that might allow them to shake their reputation.
Sacramento has been the team where good players go to die. Now, they just might have a chance to live up their franchise’s namesake.
Links
I’ll say it: Tyrese Haliburton’s Super Bowl Sunday was better than Cooper Kupp’s. 22 points (6-12 from three) and 16 assists.
Luka scored 96 points in two games: 51 against the Clippers and then 45 also against the Clippers. I think Luka hates the Clippers.
Ethan Strauss on Adrian Wojnarowki’s weird week of dismissing the obvious Harden-Sixers talks. (House of Strauss is a must-read if you care about the business/insider component of the NBA.)
Daryl Morey and James Harden, reunited with a big hug. Aww.
Joel Embiid with the clear Dunk of the Year. (Is Jarrett Allen the hardest player to dunk on?)