The Sacramento Kings were on the verge of a playoff spot a year ago. It went down to the wire. What’s undeniable is the Kings loaded young core. De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley give Sacramento fans something to smile about. Will the Kings sniff the playoffs this year or will their fans get stuck with blue balls on the outside looking in again? Let’s take a look at what the Kings will bring to the table as the 2019-2020 NBA season opens up.
Key Additions: Trevor Ariza, Dewayne Dedmon, Cory Joseph
The Kings with the veteran route this offseason. Sacramento didn’t have a
Key Departures: Willie Cauley-Stein
Cauley-Stein heads to the Warriors. While Cauley-Stein is more physically imposing, Dedman isn’t a bad replacement. Time will tell how much of a downgrade he is. I have a feeling Cauley-Stein may thrive playing next to Steph Curry.
Potential Starting Lineup: De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III
The Kings are young, fast, and dangerous. The Kings were 3rd in the NBA in pace last year which shouldn’t change as long as De’Aaron Fox runs the show. He’s one of the fastest players in the NBA and really runs a good offense. Fox has become a much better scorer. Buddy Hield continues to be a great worker and buries teams with his shooting. I compared Marvin Bagley to Chris Bosh coming out of Duke. Let’s see if he hits that sort of stride in year-two.
The Kings are a really fun team. How much better can that Fox, Hield, and Bagley trio get? The Kings finished the 2018-2019 season at 39-43. There’s no reason why they can’t squeeze out 10 more wins in a best case scenario. Luke Walton could potentially be an upgrade over Dave Joerger. Buddy Hield is a sneaky All-Star pick. He averaged over 21 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting from 3-point range. Now Hield is in a contract year? I see good things on the horizon for the Kings.
