The Kings Can Learn From the Grizzlies
Rebuilding the Sacramento Kings in the image of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Quick update: Sorry I missed Friday Donuts and my Monday column. I was out of town for my brother’s wedding, which obviously was my priority. The benefits of being your own boss! Anyway, here’s something unrelated to what I (or most people) usually write about. The Sacramento Kings?!
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Sacramento Kings. Maybe it’s because of their legendary cookies in the media room, or because it was at their old Sleep Train Arena that I attended my first NBA games as credentialed media, or just because of the fact that losers are loveable. (Okay, it’s probably the cookies.) Anyway, I think about the Kings often. Too much for any normal human or even Sacramento-based human.
Most often, I think about them around the trade deadline. They’re one of the league’s more interesting teams because of their relentless dysfunction. It’s incredible that no one — not the 12 head coaches or four general managers that have tried over the past two decades — can get things moving, even slightly, in a positive direction. The Kings are the sort of organization that seems fun to run in NBA 2K’s franchise mode because anyone feels like they could do a better job than the people actually in charge.
And, with that, Ima fix the Kings.
1. The De’Aaron Fox Question
The first thing we have to do is figure out who we’re building around. Who is our star? The Kings have telegraphed through reported leaks that they want to build around guards De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton — even when considering a hypothetical trade scenario for Ben Simmons. I’ve long been a Haliburton guy. Back as a beat writer, I lobbied for the Warriors to select him instead of James Wiseman (and I may end up being right about that). But the reason he’d be a good fit in Golden State is the same reason he’s not the star worth building around in Sacramento — he’s a great complementary player. Does he have high-level starter potential? Sure. But he’s not the sun to a franchise’s solar system.
Like it or not, Fox is the closest thing the Kings have to a franchise player. While his numbers are down from last year, that may be more of a function of the team’s stench. It’s hard for a player to improve when the team around him gets collectively worse. At 18-34, the Kings are on pace for their worst season since 2017-18, when Fox was a rookie.
When they took Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic in 2018, they did so with the idea that Fox was the foundation. That is the loudest of many personnel failures, not just because they passed on Luka (which the Suns did as well, but they recovered and went to the Finals) but also because they passed on others. Jaren Jackson Jr. went fourth overall to the Memphis Grizzlies and has emerged as a building block and ideal complement to Ja Morant. Bagley, meanwhile, has failed to make an impact and is averaging the fewest minutes of his career.
In fact, the Grizzlies are the template the Kings should follow. If any team has proven you can build around a slashing, jet-stream point guard, it’s Memphis. Morant and Fox were made at the same point guard factory. According to NBA.com’s tracking data, Morant (4.5 mph) and Fox (4.56 mph) travel the court at similar speeds. Both are 6-foot-3 and do a majority of their work in the paint while averaging roughly 3.5 3-point attempts per game. Fox isn’t as good as Morant, a bonafide MVP candidate, but that’s not the point.
The point is that Fox is Sacramento’s most talented player — young and full of potential. It was only a couple of years ago that he was considered one of the best young point guards in the league. He’s still just 24. It’s worth supporting him to see what they truly have in Fox.
2. More Like Memphis
Again, it’s unrealistic to think a few tweaks could turn the Kings into the Grizzlies, who at 35-18 have the third-best record in the NBA and appear to be real Finals contenders. But could the Kings be 65-70% as good as the Grizzlies? That would be good enough to at least snap their 15-year streak of missing the playoffs.
So, how do we get the Kings to 65% Grizzlies?
Let’s start with how the Grizzlies are winning. They are an elite offensive rebounding team and, in turn, rank No. 1 in points in the paint. They thrive in transition and get to the free-throw line a bunch. They aren’t winning by spamming the 3-point line (like the Warriors) or veteran savvy (like the Suns).
The Kings actually rank similarly in pace, getting to the basket (and the free-throw line) and 3-point shooting. However, they’re only an average rebounding team and are losing the transition battle, where they are ho-hum at scoring in the open court and allow a ton of points off turnovers. They also can’t defend the basket at all, giving up the most points in the paint and second-most second-chance points in the league.
The first thing we need to do is clean up that area by the basket. The Grizzlies’ interior in anchored by Steven Adams and Jackson. Adams is a burly rebounder who leads the league with 4.3 offensive rebounds per game and has to be moved out of the paint with a tugboat. Jackson is a versatile defender who uses his length and athleticism to block shots (third in the NBA with 2.3 blocks per game). He’s the ideal complement to Morant. Where Morant is (a) fast, (b) gets to the rim and (c) a liability on defense, Jackson is (a) fast, (b) can space the floor and (c) very good on defense.
Sacramento needs its Jackson. Maybe Bagley could have been it, but he’s not. Neither is Harrison Barnes or Buddy Hield. Sacramento also needs a rim protector like Adams. As much as everyone loves Richaun Holmes, he’s not that either.
What the Kings do have are guards who complement Fox in the backcourt the same way Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks complement Morant. Haliburton and Davion Mitchell are smart, defensive-minded guards who can handle the ball and get hot offensively.
So with that in mind, we head to the trade machine.
3. The Trades
In some ways, Simmons makes a lot of sense for Sacramento. He’s athletic, plays in the open court and is maybe the most versatile defender in the league. However, he doesn’t space the floor, and his role as lead ball-handler might be too redundant with Fox. Still, he’s an All-NBA level talent and the Kings should try to pry him away from Philadelphia, offering anyone not named Fox — and maybe even someone named Fox. According to multiple reports, 76ers GM Daryl Morey is still holding out for a star, and I’m afraid Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield don’t qualify for that billing.
Beyond Simmons, Sacramento’s top target should be San Antonio’s Jakob Poeltl. Poeltl ranks near the top in the league in offensive rebounding and blocks and, by advanced rim-protecting metrics, is an improvement to what the Kings have.
It’s unclear if the Spurs are listening to offers for the 26-year-old center, but as Marc Stein reported on his Substack, the Toronto Raptors are interested in trading for Poeltl. That could be a signal that Poeltl is available for the right price. The Raptors could offer some combination of a young player (Gary Trent Jr., Precious Achiuwa), a solid contributor (Goran Dragic, Chris Boucher) and a protected future first-round pick. The Kings should try to beat any offer.
A deal that sends Barnes, Holmes and a future pick to the Spurs for Poeltl and Thaddeus Young should at least be interesting to San Antonio, who could always reroute the soon-to-be-30-year-old Barnes to a third team for more draft capital and youth.
Another target could be Atlanta’s John Collins. Collins isn’t an elite defender but he’s a lob threat who can space the floor. Offensively, he’s a great fit with Fox. Would the Hawks do Barnes for Collins straight up?
Would Indiana take Buddy Hield for Myles Turner? Hield is a snug fit next to Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis, and Turner is an elite shot-blocker and floor-spacer, though not super versatile defensively.
Hield to Detroit for Jerami Grant works, too. Grant can run with Fox, defend multiple positions and projects as an ideal co-star.
Ultimately these are just ideas. Fake trade scenarios are fake for a reason. This also says nothing about finding stability at head coach (Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins still doesn’t get enough credit). But the template makes sense. Plus, we all know the direction the Kings have been headed isn’t working.