Kings coach Luke Walton ponders lineup possibilities ahead of preseason opener vs. Suns
Kings coach Luke Walton is still considering his options before deciding on a starting lineup for Monday’s preseason opener against the Phoenix Suns at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings will return to practice Sunday after taking Saturday off. Walton liked what he saw from his team over the first four days of training camp, but he’s still assessing personnel groups with an unbalanced roster that could require some creativity on the wing.
“There’s a lot of things I want to keep throwing out there on the court and evaluating,” Walton said. “And whatever I decide to go with won’t be what I like. It will be more what I feel is going to give us the best chance of winning ball games.”
Walton will likely start De’Aaron Fox at point guard, Tyrese Haliburton at shooting guard and Richaun Holmes at center with Harrison Barnes at small forward or power forward. Walton’s decision may come down to whether he wants to start Buddy Hield in a three-guard set or Marvin Bagley III in a more traditional lineup. Both are suspect defenders, but Hield would give the starting unit better shooting and spacing while Bagley would provide more size and rebounding.
If Bagley starts, Barnes can play small forward. If Hield starts, Barnes can move to power forward, where he logged 66% of his minutes last season despite starting at small forward. At 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Barnes has the size, strength and versatility to play either position.
“There are definitely scenarios where (Barnes) could start at the 3 or the 4,” Walton said. “He’s one of those players that has the ability to do both of those things. He’s a matchup nightmare when he’s at the 4 and him and De’Aaron are able to play that 1-4 pick-and-roll, peel-out game, and he’s strong enough to guard a lot of 4s, so that’s definitely a possibility.”
Hield is a bit undersized for the small forward spot at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, but he logged 53% of his minutes at that position last season after spending 89% of his time at shooting guard in 2019-20.
“In today’s NBA, I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t play minutes at the 3,” Walton said.
Hield said he would prefer to start, but he is committed to helping the team even if that means coming off the bench.
“My job is to play basketball,” Hield said. “Whatever I’m called to do, I’ve got to be ready to do it regardless whether I like it or not. That’s just part of being a professional.”
Hield said he is prepared to spend more time at small forward if that’s what Walton wants, saying the key is to “be tougher and rebound and keep your guy in front of you.”
“Whatever they call me to do, I’ve just got to do it,” Hield said. “If I’m playing a bigger wing role, I’ve just got to adjust and toughen up and do what they tell me to do.”
The closing unit of Fox, Haliburton, Hield, Barnes and Holmes formed the best of Walton’s most commonly used lineups last season, posting a net rating of plus-7.6 over 404 minutes together. The starting lineup of Fox, Hield, Barnes, Bagley and Holmes was almost just as good with a net rating of plus-7.2 in 425 minutes. Fox, Haliburton, Barnes, Bagley and Holmes only played 32 minutes together, posting a net rating of minus-1.6.
“From my perspective, it’s about how do we maximize everybody?” Barnes said. “It’s one thing to say on paper we have all these lineups and we have this talent, but if we’re not maximizing the talent that’s on that piece of paper then it doesn’t matter. So what are the lineups, what are the plays, what are the principles that we can play out of that are really going to allow us to have success? That’s why this preseason is so important because we need to see what that looks like, but I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far.”
