As we’ve said all offseason, the Sacramento Kings have had one of the best off-seasons in the association. And fortunately for us, the outside world is beginning to realize this.
On Thursday, The Athletic’s David Aldridge wrote a three-part column ranking every NBA team’s offseason. Aldridge ended up ranking the Kings sixth in the entire league!
Here’s what he had to say (the full part of this series can be viewed here). found here):
“The Kings got one of the best shot-stoppers in the game in DeRozan, who will help them in a number of ways. He’s a final-shot shooter and a foul-drawing impresario. And while the Kings could have used another shot-stopper to help keep the floor open for De’Aaron Fox, DeRozan will be a unique weapon that Mike Brown can use in all sorts of interesting ways with Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. Speaking of Brown, kudos to the Kings for not screwing up and making their very good head coach a lame duck heading into the final year of his old contract by signing him to a three-year extension. Just keeping Brown and Monk, who seemed certain to leave for a more lucrative deal elsewhere, would have made for a good offseason. With DeRozan in the mix, it’s getting closer to the big day.”
– David Aldridge, The Athletic
You could say Aldridge has been around for a while because he knows a good thing when he sees one. Between re-signing Malik Monk to a well below what many expected him to achieve, Mike Brown extensionand by signing and trading DeMar DeRozan for very little money (both contract and asset wise), the Kings have made a killing this offseason. And that’s not to mention the fact that they may have signed their own version of Derrick White in Devin Carter.
(Sidebar: The Kings also made other fringe moves that I like, like signing an undrafted free agent Isaiah Crawford towards a bilateral agreement.)
But don’t get me wrong. I don’t see the Kings as a title contender in the inner circle next season (unless they make another big move). But when you factor in their additions, the boost they’ll get from continuity, and the potential growth they could see from youngsters like Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis, it’s not hard to imagine they’ll be a 50-win or less team (keep in mind, they were a 40-win or less team the last two years).
Historically, title contenders are closer to that 50/60 win range (see The Kings are probably a cut above. But they’re a lot closer to that threshold than they were at the start of the offseason. And as fans of the team, that’s all we can really ask for.
