Can a new dynamic duo revive hope for the Sacramento Kings franchise?
The Sacramento Kings made a huge decision that will impact the future of their franchise for the next couple of years. The Kings decided to part ways with their talented second-year point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson.
The Kings traded the trio to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for two-time all-star Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, and a 2023 second-round pick. Many have criticized the Kings front office citing Haliburton as a big part of the team’s future with the potential he possesses to become one of the top guards in the league.
Haliburton is young and talented but the Kings had to make the necessary decision of who their point guard of the future was going to be as De’Aaron Fox will continue to be their floor general. It made no sense to keep two starting-caliber point guards on the roster and the Kings decided to trade Haliburton and keep Fox.
It would have been difficult to trade Fox anyway due to his enormous contract but Fox is already established with the team and the organization knows what they have in him. The Kings acquired Sabonis with the hope that he will make a leap and be able to play somewhere near an MVP level while Fox can hopefully take another leap himself in his development.
Sabonis and Fox are both young players who the Kings can build around. A change of scenery and a fresh start elsewhere should do Sabonis some good. He’s only 25 and has room to continue to grow as playing alongside Fox should help his performance incrementally. Sabonis does need to improve his shooting mechanics and continue to develop his mid-range game in order to become a more well-rounded threat offensively.
He also lacks lateral quickness on defense and must improve his footwork but those are minor issues compared to the other positive attributes he brings to the table. As a 6-foot-11 ball handling, dime dishing big man, and elite rebounder with enormous potential, Sabonis shoots a nice percentage from downtown and utilizes his strength against smaller defenders.
Now that he is teamed up with Sabonis, Fox should be able to capitalize off his screens and playmaking ability as they should have great chemistry running the pick and roll. Sabonis has also developed a habit of bringing the ball up immediately after grabbing a rebound as that should play to the Kings strength running the fast break with one of the fastest players and one of the best passing big men in the NBA putting pressure on opposing defenses.
Defense is a major concern for the Kings as they lack a true post presence defensively as they are currently last in points allowed, at the bottom of the league in rebounding, second-to-last in opposing field goal percentage, and 24th in overall defensive rating.
The last time the Kings qualified for the postseason was in 2006 as the Kings own the longest playoff drought in the NBA. Even though this trade signifies a fresh start and a new beginning, the Kings’ front office must figure out if Fox and Sabonis can lead them to a championship.
This trade has shown that the Kings organization is serious about winning and willing to make the necessary sacrifices to get it right in order to turn things around for a franchise in disarray as rebuilding over the past decade just hasn’t worked out.
The acquisition of Sabonis alone might not be enough to get the Kings to the Finals someday but he should become a key piece to the puzzle which makes the Kings an attractive destination for free agents. This dynamic duo should provide the Kings with something they haven’t had in a while and that’s balance.
Sabonis is indeed one of the underappreciated players in the league and he could help change the culture in Sacramento. An important step in developing a winning culture is making the necessary moves to build a winning team as a winning team doesn’t always have a talented roster but works together in cohesive ways and hustles on both ends of the floor.
If Sabonis and Fox can lead the way then the Kings should be very excited about their future.