Even without a free-agent signing, it’s clear to see the Kings are making big plans

At first glance, it’s understandable if Sacramento Kings fans are underwhelmed with the offseason so far.

Over the weekend, the Kings watched as Harry Giles and Kent Bazemore signed low-cost contracts to join the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors, respectively. Bogdan Bogdanovic signed an offer sheet to join the Atlanta Hawks, and it’s unclear if the Kings will match the offer Tuesday. At the same time that former Kings are signing elsewhere, the Kings have yet to sign a single free agent, and the talent pool is drying up quickly.

Despite all this, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Sacramento.

New general manager Monte McNair has a plan, and that plan has become clear over the last week. It started with the NBA Draft, where the Kings were lucky to land Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton is a versatile guard who should fit perfectly next to De’Aaron Fox. In the second round, the Kings selected Robert Woodard and Jahmi’us Ramsey.

Although Woodard and Ramsey may not be household names, they both share some distinct qualities with Haliburton. All three Kings draft picks are versatile; they can play multiple positions and all three shot over 40% from 3-point range last season. The NBA 3-point line is farther back, and most players see their shooting percentages dip when the transition to the NBA, but there’s still a clear trend of drafting players with an ability to shoot and an ability to play multiple positions.

As we progress to looking at free agency, the Kings’ first move was their most important. They immediately gave De’Aaron Fox a five-year max extension. The speed with which the extension was signed makes it clear that this is Fox’s team and everything else will be built around him. Fox isn’t a great shooter, but his speed can break down defenses. The Kings want to build a team around him with shooters who can punish defenders for helping on Fox. Enter Haliburton, Woodard and Ramsey.

Beyond just adding players who can shoot, the Kings are also moving their roster to match Fox’s timeline. The Kings reportedly didn’t seek to re-sign Kent Bazemore (age 31), but were instead reported as showing interest in players like 25-year-old defense speacilist Wes Iwundu and 26-year-old big man Willy Hernangomez. Both are much closer to Fox’s age. While the Kings ultimately didn’t sign either of those players, we can see from Sacramento’s misses the type of players the Kings want around Fox.

The Kings have a clear direction, and it’s no longer to overpay role players in the blind hope of earning the eighth seed in the playoffs. The Kings are trying to build for the long term, not the short term. And Kings fans should be excited about this. It’s going to be great for Kings fans to know that if they make the eighth seed it can be viewed as simply the first step in the team’s growth, as opposed to the finish line.

Greg Wissinger is the managing editor of KingsHerald.com and has been covering the Kings since 2009.

This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 8:31 AM.