Kings coach Mike Brown names fourth starter; latest on battle at power forward position
Kings coach Mike Brown sounds like he made up his mind after using the first 10 days of training camp to consider his options at shooting guard.
The power forward position, however, remains undecided as the Kings prepare to play their preseason home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Brown essentially named a fourth player to his starting lineup following practice Friday when he said Kevin Huerter has emerged as the likely starter at shooting guard. The Kings also have Malik Monk and Terence Davis, but Brown likes the size, length, shooting and secondary playmaking ability Huerter provides in the backcourt alongside point guard De’Aaron Fox.
“The more I watch, I just think Kevin might be the right fit at that two-guard spot,” Brown said. “But for me, right now, that power forward spot can be wide open.”
Huerter, 24, is entering his fifth NBA season after coming out of Maryland as the 19th pick in the 2018 draft. The Kings acquired him in July in a trade that sent Maurice Harkless, Justin Holiday and a protected first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks.
Huerter averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and 38.9% from 3-point range for the Hawks last season. He started 216 of 274 games over four seasons in Atlanta.
At 6 foot 7 and 198 pounds, Huerter is also capable of playing small forward, giving the Kings some defensive versatility on the wing. Monk is 6-3 and Davis is 6-4. Both can be explosive scorers, and both will have opportunities to provide that spark off the bench, but neither can match Huerter’s length and versatility.
Huerter had five points, three rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes when the Kings opened preseason play with a 105-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. He went 2 of 5 from the field and 1 of 3 from 3-point range.
Monk came off the bench to log 15 minutes, finishing with eight points, six rebounds and two assists while going 3 of 11 from the field and 1 of 5 from beyond the arc. Davis had four points on 1-of-6 shooting with two steals in nine minutes.
The Kings plan to start Fox and Huerter in the backcourt with Harrison Barnes at small forward and Domantas Sabonis at Center. Brown and his staff are still evaluating players at the power forward spot.
KZ Okpala started against the Lakers. He had two points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 10 minutes before sitting out the second half with the other starters. Okpala was seen on the floor with the starting unit again near the end of Friday’s practice.
Rookie first-round draft pick Keegan Murray was sensational off the bench in his preseason debut. He scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes, although he logged a portion of his minutes at small forward with Trey Lyles and Chimezie Metu combining for 25 minutes at power forward.
Murray and Okpala are both listed at 6 foot 8 and 215 pounds. Murray, the No. 4 pick in June’s NBA draft, looks like an NBA-ready scorer who is viewed as a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. Okpala, who came to Sacramento as a free agent after three years with the Miami Heat, is one of the team’s fiercest and most versatile defenders. Lyles (6-9, 234) and Metu (6-9, 225) offer the most size at that position.
Murray is the eventual answer at power forward, but even he acknowledges he is adjusting to the size and physicality of the NBA game. Bringing him along in a backup role during the preseason, while also trying him at small forward in the event of a Harrison Barnes trade, might be a prudent approach.
Brown went a little further Friday when explaining what he meant when he said the position battle at power forward was “wide open.”
“It can be wide open from the standpoint of, tonight we may need this or tomorrow night we may need that,” Brown said. “Having that versatility on the team to be able to do that from time to time, for me, is a positive.”
