One ideal area of improvement for each Kings player

External improvement via trades, free agency, and the draft often steal the headlines during an NBA offseason. Because of that, internal improvements can often be overlooked but are just as vital to a team’s progress and development.

Regardless of age, NBA players always aim to improve individually from one season to the next. The Sacramento Kings have just two players in their thirties and plenty of players who could take notable strides heading into the 2023-24 season.

This exercise is divided into three pieces by position — not including rookies or two-way players. To start, I struggle to differentiate positions in today’s NBA. As head coach Mike Brown says, in Sacramento, positions one through four are interchangeable—it’s just about being able to match up defensively with the opposition.

That was seen throughout the seasons with lineups where Keegan Murray is at the typical shooting guard spot and other moments where Kevin Huerter is the second-tallest player on the floor.

So, forgive me if some of the positional definitions for these players seem a bit funky. They’re a somewhat unnecessary title in the modern NBA, particularly with the Kings.

That being said, I separated the players into guards, wings/forwards, and centers.

Here is one area of improvement going into 2024-25 for each of Sacramento’s players:

De’Aaron Fox (27 years old): Shot Selection

Fox significantly improved as a deep threat last season, largely thanks to his consecutive years of offseason work with assistant coach Luke Loucks.

In 2022-23, he converted 32.4 percent of his five three-point attempts per game. Last year that jumped to 36.9 percent on 7.8 attempts.

It’s a crucial aspect of his long-term development, forcing defenders to respect his range. There were stellar games where he went 7/17, 8/16, and 7/13 from three, but it’s the moments where he converted just 2/12 or 5/15.

When it comes down to it, his elite skill remains as a finisher around the rim, making at least 65 percent of his attempts within four feet for the past four seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.

When he’s feeling it and knocking it down, by all means, keep letting it fly from three. But the Kings were 2-3 in games where Fox shot double-digit triples and made 35 percent or fewer.

The first step was showing the rest of the league that they must respect that shot. Now, use that to get back to your money and relentlessly attack the rim.

Malik Monk (26 years old): Fewer turnovers, consistency

This one is a bit tricky because part of Monk’s appeal is his willingness and ability to make tough plays, and with that comes inconsistencies. So, I went with his playmaking rather than asking him to iron out his shot selection.

Monk’s passing is crucial to Sacramento’s second unit’s offense, which led to him finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He averaged 5.1 assists per game—not far behind Fox’s 5.6.

The Kings were 13-2 in games where Monk tallied at least eight assists, often setting up Domantas Sabonis or backup centers Alex Len and JaVale McGee. Limiting turnovers could improve his consistency.

While he had a mere eight games with four or more turnovers, Sacramento went 4-4 in those showings. His playmaking responsibility may be lessened with the addition of DeMar DeRozan, but limiting mistakes (particularly live-ball turnovers) could greatly benefit the team.

Keon Ellis (25 years  old): Ball handling

Coach Brown shared that coming into the 2023-24 season, he had placed Ellis as the fourth-string point guard behind Fox, Davion Mitchell, and rookie Colby Jones.

He quickly realized the value of Ellis’ 6’8.5 wingspan and the disruptive defense he provided, eventually starting him at the two for 17 of their final 19 games.

In a low-usage offensive role, Ellis has little room for turnovers. There were instances where he was tasked with bringing the ball up the floor and struggled to do so against standout perimeter defenders due to his handle.

If he can continue to develop that skill, it will allow the third-year guard to attack closeouts with more intent and bring the ball up the floor more promptly to initiate the offense.

Jordan McLaughlin (28 years old): Prove the improved three-ball is real

The most notable free agent signing the Kings made this offseason, McLaughlin spent his first five NBA seasons as a backup point guard for the Timberwolves.

Despite being listed at just 6’0, he’s a hound on the defensive end and an intelligent playmaker on the other.

Last season, his primary growth came as a perimeter shooter, knocking down 47.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes. Yet, in 2022-23, that number sat at 29.6 percent, and 32.8 percent in the year prior.

McLaughlin will need to prove that last season’s conversion rate is the new norm to optimize his time on the floor alongside playmakers such as Fox, DeRozan, and Sabonis.

Colby Jones (22 years old): Ball Handling

Jones seems to be following a career path similar to that of Ellis. He logged double-digit minutes with Sacramento on seven occasions in his rookie season.

Still, he averaged 36.1 minutes in 13 G-League games as a do-it-all guard with 19.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and two steals on 51.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three on 6.2 attempts.

The potential route to improvement is evident in his 3.4 turnovers per game with Stockton. While playing with Sacramento in Houston, he had three turnovers in 18 minutes.

As a second-year player, he will surely focus on improving multiple aspects of his game, but making strides as a ball handler could improve his chances of eventually earning the backup point guard role down the line.

DeMar DeRozan (35 years old): Playing in the Point-5

With DeRozan being the oldest player on the Kings and an established future Hall of Famer, ranking 36th in all-time scoring with six All-Star appearances, it’s hard to ask him to continue to improve.

So, for him, it’s more about adjusting to head coach Mike Brown’s schemes in Sacramento, one of which is playing at point five. The point five offense is defined by making decisions with the ball — whether to shoot, drive, or pass — in point five seconds.

DeRozan, King of the pump fake, tends to have a slower, more systematic approach to his offense. Last season with the Bulls, 25.2 percent of his attempts were taken within two seconds of touching the ball, 41.5 percent in 2-6 seconds, and 33.3 percent were in moments where he had possessions for at least six seconds.

For reference, Harrison Barnes (who DeRozan is essentially replacing in the starting lineup) took 60.2 percent of his shots in less than two seconds, 33.7 percent in 2-6 seconds, and just 6.1 percent after six or more seconds of possession.

It’s not simple to compare, as DeRozan has more credible reasons to take his time and get to his spots than Barnes, but it’s a crucial aspect of Sacramento’s offense. Even Malik Monk took 41.5 percent of his shots after less than two seconds of possession.

There will need to be a healthy balance of the former All-Star adapting to their schemes and the scheme adapting to his skillset.

Keegan Murray (24 years old): Offensive aggressiveness

The Sacramento Kings offense is predicated on ball and player movement. It is often referred to as ‘equal opportunity,’ meaning it’s on the players to go and get it when they see fit.

On a team with De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Malik Monk, it’s understandable for a second-year player to be skittish in claiming possessions as his own.

But he was a top-four pick for a reason and showed flashes of self-creation ability that will be crucial to his long-term development in the NBA.

Murray had 22 games last season with at least 15 field goal attempts, yet 16 instances where he shot the ball fewer than ten times. The Kings were 7-3 when Murray scored at least 25 points and 11-7 when he ended the night in single digits.

“Keegan’s going to have to just be aggressive in the flow of our offense,” Coach Brown said in the middle of last season when asked about getting the young wing additional looks.

With the addition of DeMar DeRozan, that aggressive mindset could be increasingly difficult to muster up, but his teammates and coaching staff have constantly instilled confidence in his ability to call his own number and get buckets.

Kevin Huerter (26 years old): Back to elite three-point shooting

In his exit interview, Huerter said that he “went into last offseason, trying to be really good at the things I think I’d be doing in our offense. I really kind of focused my on-court work on looks I’d get within our offense, how I thought I’d be used, different plays I thought I’d have, and really based my workouts off of those. And maybe I didn’t touch upon everything else that I think I’m capable of doing or can do, things that make you a fully well rounded player.”

“So, that’s kind of my goal going into this year,” he continued. “Getting back to some of the things I did the first four or five offseasons of my career and that’s working on everything. What do you want to get better at? I just want to become a better basketball player.”

I thought that Huerter’s insight at the end of the season was great. Already, we’ve seen him working out with Sabonis and DeRozan in Southern California, and hopefully, that approach will pay off after the worst season of his career (outside of his rookie year) which ended with him sidelined for the final 15 games due to an unfortunate torn left labrum.

The Maryland product knocked down a career-low 36.1 percent from three and was targeted by the opposing team’s best players in switches.

While defensive growth would obviously be ideal, finding his way back to being one of the league’s best deep threats, including off of movement, could lead to a bounce-back year.

Trey Lyles (29 years old): Free throw shooting

This was honestly one of the more difficult ones to pinpoint. At this point, it feels like we know what Trey Lyles is and that he has a valuable bench role on Sacramento’s roster, with the versatility to play anything from the three to a small-ball center.

Eventually, I settled on what is somewhat of a cop-out answer, as it could be said for a majority of players on a Sacramento Kings team that ended the year dead last in free-throw percentage (74.5 percent).

Lyles converted 70 percent (49/70) from the charity stripe last season, which is far from horrible but also the worst conversion rate in his two-and-a-half seasons wearing royal purple.

It’s a contract year for the 6’9 forward, going into the final season of his two-year, $16-million contract.

Jalen McDaniels (27 years old): Solidfying the three in 3&D

McDaniels was the lone player acquired in the Kings’ financially focused deal that sent Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov to Toronto.

With Harrison Barnes and, to a lesser extent, Kessler Edwards no longer around, his 6’9 frame with a seven-foot wingspan could prove helpful on nights when Coach Brown inevitably thirsts for a new defensive look.

But he has to prove useful on the offensive side of the ball if he’s going to garner a consistent bench role. In 538 minutes throughout 49 games with the Raptors, McDaniels converted 17.5 percent (11/63) of his looks from three.

He’s a 32.2 percent three-point shooter in his five NBA seasons and can’t be someone that opposing teams are willing to ignore on the perimeter.

Domantas Sabonis (28 years old): Free Throw Shooting

Sabonis does everything on the court, functioning as the offensive hub of Sacramento’s offense thanks to his elite playmaking skills while simultaneously pulling down the most rebounds per game (13.7) in the NBA for the second consecutive season.

While many would point to his shooting as an ideal area of improvement, I have less faith. That was the thought headed into 2023-24 after the Warriors dared him to take jumpers in the postseason, but little growth was season last season, so it felt unreasonable to choose that as the target moving forward.

Instead, it’s his conversion rate from the free-throw line, where he knocked down 70.4 percent of his looks, the second-lowest percentage of his career, only trailing his rookie season with the Thunder.

The Kings ended last season dead last in free-throw percentage (74.5 percent), and of players who attempted at least one per game, only Trey Lyles (70.0 percent) and JaVale McGee (57.8) converted at a lower rate than Sabonis.

Of all players who attempted five or more free throws per game, only Zion Williamson, Alperen Sengun, and Rudy Gobert trailed Sacramento’s big man. Of the 26 games where Sabonis shot under 60 percent from the charity stripe, the Kings lost four by less than five points.

Winning five more games would have had Sacramento in the fifth or sixth seed in the Western Conference, outside of the play-in.

Knocking down those looks is crucial to his physical around-the-basket style of play.

Alex Len (31 years old): Limiting fouls

Len and DeRozan are the only two players on Sacramento’s roster who are 30 or older. The seven-footer produced in a limited role last season, enough so that the Kings re-signed him to a one-year veteran minimum ($ 3.3 million) over the offseason.

He sets hard screens, rolls to the basket forcefully, and is a rim deterrent. But sometimes, his movements can be slightly out of control and premature, leading to an average of 5.4 fouls per 36 minutes.

In March, against the Lakers, Len tallied four fouls in under ten minutes of play. This was the most extreme of eight examples of him recording three or more fouls in under 12 minutes.

Teams can then quickly find themselves in the bonus, and this is a mistake you don’t want to see from a limited-minute backup center.

Orlando Robinson (24 years old): Consistency

The Kings added 6’10 Robinson to a one-year $2.1-million deal via free agency this offseason, with $500,000 guaranteed. He will likely fill the JaVale McGee role as another option for Coach Brown behind Sabonis.

In two seasons with the Heat (and their G-League program), he showed flashes of rim protection and encouraging moments of spacing the floor. Robinson knocked down six of his sixteen three-point attempts in nine G-League games last season.

At this point in his career, it’s about finding something he can consistently provide to a team. Is it rim protection? Is it spacing the floor from the center position? The Kings hope to find a more straightforward answer in 2023-24.

When is the next Sacramento Kings offseason date of interest?

Now that we know when the Kings will suit up for their season-opener, we can look forward to October 24th, when the Beam Team will face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Training camps will begin at the end of September, meaning general manager Monte McNair could still make a move or two — potentially including signing some of the above NBA free agents — to round out Sacramento before players report to Golden 1 Center.

Be sure to stay locked into Sactown Sports for all of your Sacramento Kings news on player signings, trades, game recaps, and more for the upcoming season.

Sacramento Kings 2024-25 Schedule

Preseason

• Wednesday, October 9th – vs. Golden State Warriors – 7 pm PDT
• Friday, October 11th – @ Golden State Warriors – 7 pm PDT
• Sunday, October 13th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 3 pm PDT
• Tuesday, October 15th – @ Utah Jazz – 6 pm PDT

Regular Season

• Thursday, October 24th – vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 7 pm PDT
• Saturday, October 26th – @ Los Angeles Lakers – 7:30 pm PDT
• Monday, October 28th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 7 pm PDT
• Tuesday, October 29th – @ Utah Jazz – 6 pm PDT
• Friday, November 1st – @ Atlanta Hawks – 4 pm PDT

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