Three storylines to watch for the Sacramento Kings after the All-Star break

After a somewhat lengthy break, the Sacramento Kings are back in action Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Leaving All-Star weekend as the third seed in the Western Conference, Sacramento is back on the map under Mike Brown and his coaching staff. Equipped with two All-Stars for the first time since 2004 (De’Aaron Fox & Domantas Sabonis), the Kings will look to finish the regular season strong in order to make some noise in the postseason.

But like any team, Sacramento faces some challenges down the stretch run of the regular season. And with only 25 games left and a tight race in the West, a lot can happen by mid-April.

Here are three storylines to watch for with the Kings.

1. The playoff drought being broken

The biggest moment of the Kings’ 2022 season will be when Golden One Center lights the beam to signal a playoff berth. Sacramento is currently the league leader in playoff absences, last making the postseason in 2006. For reference, all members of that Kings team have retired, and Kenny Thomas is now a part of the NBC Sports California team doing pre, post, and half-time updates for Kings games.

The point is: It’s been a minute since there was playoff basketball in the capital of California.

Positioned in a prime spot to make the postseason, Sacramento will hope to fend off other conference contenders to get home-court advantage for the playoffs. That may not happen, especially given the strength of the schedule ahead.

But the Kings will make their first postseason appearance in 2023, and that’s all the city has asked for over the last two decades.

2. What happens with the buyout market?

If the Kings want to further enhance their chances of being a formidable foe down the stretch, they should look to the buyout market.

Sacramento stayed relatively pat at the trade deadline, watching as other divisional and conference opponents made moves for the immediate future. General manager Monte McNair would be wise to do the same, especially with an abundance of talent on the waiver wire.

Free agents still available, among others:

Carmelo Anthony
DeMarcus Cousins
Dwight Howard
Isaiah Thomas
Serge Ibaka
John Wall
LaMarcus Aldridge
Rodney Hood
Kemba Walker
Quinn Cook
Kenneth Faried
Tony Snell
Elfrid Payton
Will Barton
Stanley Johnson
Wayne Ellington
David Nwaba… https://t.co/dZlhfp9VXg

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 23, 2023

The Kings could benefit from an additional big man in the rotation, allowing Sabonis to get a much-needed breather in games. Players like LaMarcus Aldridge, Serge Ibaka, or even DeMarcus Cousins could fill the void for Mike Brown and Co. Another option could be Stanley Johnson, mentioned by JayMarZZ on Sactown Sports Thursday. Johnson would provide vital wing depth for the Kings, able to guard 2-4 on the floor.

Bottom line: Sacramento needs to add another player or two to fortify the roster for the postseason.

3. Can the Kings withstand the schedule down the stretch?

Sacramento has one of the toughest slates to end the regular season, starting with the Trail Blazers, Clippers and Thunder in four days. After that: Pretty much every team in the hunt for playoff positioning in 2023. The Kings end their regular season with five games in seven days, closing out the regular season on the road against the Denver Nuggets.

With no time to take games off, the Kings could have some late-season fatigue set in for this relatively young group, especially if depth becomes an issue this season. That may be the most-telling marker for where the Kings actually lie moving forward.

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