General Manager Monte McNair encouraged Sacramento to offensive rebound

Oct 8, 2024, 4:37 PM

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 14: Alex Len #25 of the Sacramento Kings gathers a rebound against I...

Alex Len #25 of the Sacramento Kings gathers a rebound against Ibou Badji #41 of the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center on April 14, 2024 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sactown Sports writer

One theme at the Sacramento Kings 2024-25 training camp has been the increased emphasis on offensive rebounding. As it turns out, general manager Monte McNair was the one to pitch the idea to head coach Mike Brown this offseason.

Brown is willing to take sound, well-thought-out advice on improving the team from anyone. “It’s best when you give people ownership around you to make them feel part of the process,” he said.

“I don’t care if the idea comes from somebody in our video room, somebody on the coaching staff, Mel, my executive assistant. If she’s got a great idea, let’s roll with it. In this case, when it came to offensive rebounding, it was Monte (McNair.) He’s a huge analytics guy and he came to us during our coaches retreat in Tahoe my first year.”

Brown said he initially opposed the idea, but McNair’s stance on its potential convinced him it could help the team.

“(Monte McNair) threw it out there, and I said, ‘Well, it’s going to kill us in transition defense, and I kept trying to ways to fight it, and he kept sticking to his guns and saying he believed in it. So, I said, ‘Okay, let’s try it.’ And we tried it. I liked it, so we’re trying to increase it.”

Even though McNair was the one to push it over the top, Brown has toyed with the idea as far back as his time coaching the Nigerian national team in 2021 (along with Jordi Fernandez and Luke Loucks), where New Zealand had an effective method on the offensive glass.

“They have a system of crashing,” he continued. “So, we spent time talking to (New Zealand head coach Paul Henare) and one of his assistant coaches… I wasn’t sure if I’d carry it over here. Monte was the one that convinced me.”

The Kings averaged 10.8 offensive rebounds per game last season, which ranked 18th in the NBA.

As Domantas Sabonis pointed out at Monday’s practice, they started crashing more aggressively towards the end of last season, as evident in their 11.9 offensive rebounds (5th) post-All-Star break.

The Kings have an increased emphasis on offensive rebounds in 24-25

When executed correctly, chasing an offensive rebound can limit the opposing team’s opportunity on the break because the team must focus on securing the defensive glass before leaking out.

Brown and offensive coordinator Jay Triano are asking for a relentless, game-long pursuit in that aspect, hypothesizing it could significantly improve their offensive efficiency and opportunities for “dagger threes” or three-point attempts coming after offensive rebounds. It’s one of the most efficient points-per-possession shots in basketball.

Even if a player cannot fully secure the board, simply getting a hand on it could lead to a favorable outcome for the Kings.

“Who knows what could happen when we get our hands on it,” Brown said. “We could come up with it, you can hit it, and it could go off somebody’s leg, and now it’s our ball out of bounds. There are a lot of good things.”

To highlight the importance, the Kings coaching staff made offensive rebounds count for two points in some Monday afternoon drills.

Last year, Sacramento scored 1.16 points per possession on offensive rebounds, which was good for eight in the association.

With the athleticism and hustle of their rostered players, it will be intriguing to see how much they can improve their second-chance opportunities while maintaining high-level transition defense.

Will the theory Monte McNair presented prove correct, or will it be something they test early in the season before reverting back to their style from last season?

Wednesday’s preseason debut against the Golden State Warriors will be the first look into it’s success rate.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The Kings will undergo a week of practice and full-contact workouts before opening the preseason portion of their 2024-25 schedule at home against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, October 9th.

Be sure to catch all of the action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM with Kings vs. Warriors set to tip off at 7:00 PM PDT.