Are the Kings suddenly fun? It’s early but here’s what to like about the post-trade team
With De’Aaron Fox working the perimeter and Domantas Sabonis manning the top of the key, setting screens at the 3-point line or making passes from the elbows, the Kings offense just seemed to make sense against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
The presence of Sabonis allowed Chimezie Metu to cut down the baseline and hammer home dunks fed by the new center’s creative passing. Sabonis’ floor vision, use of angles and positioning also led to 3-point shooters getting open looks.
It all led to a win, most importantly, with the Golden 1 Center crowd reaching a different level of intensity in the fourth quarter spurred by clutch shots, defensive stops and breakaway baskets. Wednesday’s victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 132-119, came in Sabonis’ Sacramento debut. It was a breath of fresh air, an oasis in a desert, hot chocolate on a cold day for a franchise that’s spent most of the season broiled in frustration.
One could even call it: fun.
Could the Kings become fun again? Say what you will about the decision to trade promising 21-year-old Tyrese Haliburton to get Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers. We’ve done that plenty. Sacramento’s new product on the court has the potential reach levels of fun that feel foreign to a team that’s missed the playoffs an NBA-high 15 consecutive seasons.
And the fun could come from a free-wheeling style that’s still in its infancy. After all, Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb, the newest Kings acquired in Tuesday’s trade for Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, weren’t sure they were going to play Wednesday.
Yet, the way ball moved with Sabonis as an offensive hub, and how the team responded to the fresh faces, gave the Kings a different feeling. It’s one they’ll have to embrace to maximize the rest of the season and the stated goal of making the play-in tournament, despite a 21-36 record.
“When you have a flow and everyone seems connected, I think it’s easy to have fun out there,” interim coach Alvin Gentry said afterwards. “Obviously winning helps. But I think this team sees an opportunity that we can be pretty good and we got a lot of room to improve. I just think it’s a shot in the arm that hopefully we’ll be able to capitalize on.”
There was proof of concept in a one-game sample. Harrison Barnes scored 30 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Rookie Davion Mitchell, who came off the bench, added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, a two-handed fast break dunk and resulting flex during a 33-18 fourth quarter that got the crowd into a frenzy. Fox scored 27 on 50% shooting with eight rebounds.
The arrival of Sabonis appeared to catalyze all of it because the pieces on the chess board finally appear to complement one another rather than overlap. Sabonis was heady enough to set the right screens and make the right passes, and it allowed the Kings to better play to their strengths, rather than the awkward game of musical chairs Fox and Haliburton found themselves in while trying to co-manage the offense.
And the result was fun. Metu was cutting and dunking. Barnes was hitting 3s. Mitchell showed an enticing version of an all-around game that’s been blossoming in recent weeks. Even Lamb, a relative afterthought in the trade, was a stunning plus-26 in 31 minutes, making 3-of-8 from distance with six rebounds and five assists. The Kings bench outscored Minnesota’s, 34-22.
Sacramento, the NBA’s 23rd-ranked rebounding team, won on the boards, 51-34. The team that averaged 23.4 assists on the year had 32, one off its season high, which helped create 72 points in the paint. All without any practice time with three new players on board.
“I think what happens in those situations is those kind of things become infectious,” Gentry said. “As a matter of fact, during one timeout, I said, ‘I think we’re over-passing. We’re passing on shots — I love the unselfishness — but we’re passing on shots that we shouldn’t normally pass on. But I think they also understand that now, when they make these great cuts, you’re probably going to end up with an easy basket. I think what happens in those situations is guys are much more willing to cut.”
In one game, the Kings provided a glimmer of optimism that things could be changing. It could come because this new style is fun, not only to watch but for players to play in.
If Sabonis’ big smile and joyous body language in his first news conference after the game was any indication, the resulting fun from his playing style will remain an emphasis.
“I think it’s very important, especially in the league today,” Sabonis said after posting 22 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and a steal. “A lot of teams can guard the first possession, one stop, two stops, but if the ball keeps moving, it’s hard to stop. I kept telling Justin and Jeremy, ‘it’s contagious. Let’s just play our game and everybody’s going to keep passing the ball. I feel like it showed today. We had 32 assists, so it was just a lot of fun out there.”
The Kings tried a new starting lineup, moving Mitchell and big man Richaun Holmes to the bench in favor of Sabonis and Holiday. Sacramento started Fox and Holiday in the back court, Barnes at small forward, Metu at the four and Sabonis in the middle. Holiday had a rough shooting night but wasn’t timid. The career 37% shooter from long range went 0-6 and scored just six points.
But it was what Holiday said afterwards about trying to reach the postseason that will be remembered from his debut.
“We play this game because we enjoy that challenge,” Holiday said. “We enjoy being competitive and we want to win. So getting a chance to go to the playoffs and working toward that is why we’re here. We don’t come out here just to waste our time. We don’t want to waste your (reporters’) time. We don’t want to waste the fans’ time. And to make the playoffs is something that’s important to us. And to get towards being a team that is at that level and does that, and does well in the playoffs, is what we’re trying to work for. Yeah, it’s going to be a challenge, but we enjoy that.”
The Kings might not be done dealing ahead of Thursday’s noon trade deadline. Holmes, who signed a four-year, $46.5 million contract last August, might be too expensive to come off the bench, and could potentially get moved for another piece or future draft pick. Reports have indicated Barnes is likely staying put, and might be a stabilizer for a team that can’t afford to shed talent on the wings. The Kings could still use more shooting, and perhaps another player like Metu, with length that can slash and take advantage of Sabonis’ passing.
Regardless, with Sabonis in tow helping orchestrate a new style, the Kings might find themselves reinvigorated. If so, the fan base aching for something to cheer for could finally have something.
“To me,” Gentry said, “the other thing that was very, very impressive was that was like one of the old Arco (Arena) crowds. I thought the fans were unbelievable.”
Indeed, getting Arco-type crowds inside Golden 1 Center might be the entire point. And it could be achievable if the fun remains a symptom winning like it was Wednesday.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 7:25 AM.
