Can this new-look Sacramento Kings lineup be productive?

Can this new-look Sacramento Kings lineup be productive?

Kings yesterday made it official. They did sign Dennis Shruder free agency deal. There’s some other little parts of it. I know there was a an add-on there as far as a um you know potential second round pick here could go against the mid-level exception uh or trade exception, excuse me, uh for the Pistons. Kings still have some more mid-level exception. Anyway, the the bottom line is let’s talk about Dennis Shruder of what he will be and what he will mean for the Sacramento Kings. So, I found it interesting when we went back to the exit meetings of the Sacramento Kings. I I think of all the things a lot of times when you know people what stood out to me the most if I can remember the best of things that stood out to me is the amount of going out of their way by the players to praise Doug Christie who was at that time still the interim coach. So that was a little breadcrumb you kind of observe. It’s like all right players say what they want to say. They’re being asked by the media different questions. But I felt like a lot of players were putting their endorsements in for Doug Christie who ultimately now got the job and as the head coach. So that was one. And then Damonte Sabonis, you know, one of the leaders, longest tenure king here, says openly, we need a point guard. Now Sabonis isn’t a controversial quote, isn’t a guy to say much about that kind of stuff publicly, but said it. And I think that I think he was right. But I also don’t know if there was a shot at the organization in that because we know the stat that’s been out there. The only team to draft three all-star point guards in the last 25 years or really do last 15 is the Sacramento Kings and Dear Fox, Tyrese Hallebertton and Isaiah Thomas. Now Isaiah Thomas isn’t playing in the league, but the other two are and they’re not on the Kings. So they went from having a surplus of point guards to not having a point guard. Now Devin Carter can play it. Malik Monk did play it. Keon Ellis can play it. Lavine and D Rozan can handle the ball. Not as well. But yeah, could they get by with that? I guess I wouldn’t have loved it. But now there was a need for a point guard. The point guard free agency list had some guys. Um and reportedly the Kings were looking at Russell Westbrook. I believe that report. I think others have kind of confirmed that and I don’t know that he’s still completely off the board, but Dennis Shruder was the one that was most commonly linked to the Kings. There are other names like Chris Paul that was talked about. Um could they have gone for Taius Jones? Um Ty Jerome personally a point guard I I think was ready for a starting opportunity instead went to Memphis. So, but that’s where the Kings decided to go. And I think if you look at the reasoning behind it, there’s a couple things. Dennis Sher’s been a good guy, been a good player in this league. I’m a little intrigued by the amount of times he’s bounced around. This will be I don’t know if it’s his 10th team. I He’s bounced around a lot. started in Atlanta, then OKC, the Lakers, Boston, Houston, Lakers again, Toronto, Brooklyn, Golden State, Detroit, and career averages, if he gives the Kings this next year, 14 points, five assists, uh, shooting at about, uh, 43%, 34% from three, free throws, 84%. There’s some good stuff there. I think traditionally he’s been he’s been a starter. He’s been off the bench. Let’s see. He’s played 842 games in his career and he started about half of them. Just about half. 424. A tad over a half. I personally think of him more as a backup point guard, but he’s going to be the King’s starting point guard. There’s some similarities, I feel like, in some sense, to when the Kings added a guy like Darren Collison a few years ago. It’s like, hey, this team needs a point guard to help function this team. And Darren Collison came in and had a really nice couple year run as a Kings point guard. Then they had Rondo in here, did the same kind of thing. So, I think there’s going to be some expectations based on his career stats. Um, I think he’s going to be a guy that will need to score, not to the level of Fox, will probably need to be um a consistent distributor. You’d love to see the turnover number down. Um, he is a veteran. He’s been in situations in playoff teams, in struggling teams. I think if the roster stays as it is constructed, which I don’t believe it will be, but that’s all we can assume right now. But if it is a team that has Lavine and D Rozan, and that’s the main part I’m talking about here, and really Keegan, I would say because Sabonis, they’re going to work through him in in some way, shape, or form. I feel like Sher’s job will be to recognize mismatches, recognize hot guys, recognize the balance of trying to get the best of Lavine, D Rozan, and Keegan Murray because I think Sabonis is kind of a guy that can can do it with or without a point guard. I mean, if that makes sense. I feel like D Sabonis Sabonis’ game is pretty consistent. No matter if they have Fox, no matter if they had Hallebertton with him, which they didn’t play together, no matter if it was Keon, no matter kind of who’s running the point. I feel like the other guys are more reliant on a point guard. And you know, there was playmaking in in Malik Monk that was actually pretty exciting to watch, but there was also a little bit of a wild nature to it. So I feel like what the Kings need in a in a ideal situation out of Dennis Shruder is a guy that’s played those 800 games that will be comfortable as a voice of the team as a veteran will defend hopefully at a respectable level. This team has not been a great defensive team. So, some of the guys that will be quote unquote behind Dennis Shruder in the minutes like Keon Ellis potentially, Devin Carter potentially, those guys can get after it a little bit. So, I like the fact that there’s some genuine competition there, but when you just sign a guy as the new GM for a multi-year deal with the third one being an option, a a minimal guarantee, there’s going to be some expectations and probably a starting spot is is basically gifted. I mean, I will say for lack of a better term, gifted there. So, barring some impressive run in the summer and or camp that changes the direction, I wouldn’t be I would be surprised if Shruder is not your starting point guard. So, if he is, can he be like the guy in the 22 season that was with the Lakers that had Anthony Davis and LeBron James and helped get those guys involved and was basically going to get a a pretty good extended contract there and turned it down. trusted on himself and that was one of the guys that had a painful lesson. It backfired on him. Lakers were going to give him a big deal and he turned it down. But now he’s here and can he be the guy that was in Brooklyn last year in Detroit but not in Golden State. I mean his Golden State numbers in 24 games he started 18 of them and shot 37% uh 41 from from three below his norm in the free throw line at 74%. turnover number was was a little bit higher, averaged 10 points a game. It just it just wasn’t the right fit. So, here he’s not only going to be asked to be the right fit, but he’s going to be asked to do quite a bit as far as some leadership, some defense, some experience, and get the best out of D. Rosen and Lavine as two guys that again when you look at them on their own you’re like man Lavine Lavine actually had one of his best years of his career last year and we saw him play some really good games as a king but then there were other games that was like man Zack Lavine for what he’s getting paid for what his abilities are you want more D Rozan I feel like more times not for me the Kings fans gets a little bit of a bad rap. D Rozan to me produced I mean what he was asked to do I I know there’s some elements of being a ball stopper. It’s not always there but sometimes there is but look fourth quarter clutch time he was there ability to get to the free throw line ability to get teams in foul trouble. Um, the problem really with me with Lavine and D Rozan is their defense. And of the two, I’ll give a little bit more leeway to D Rozan than I will to Lavine because D Rozan, I think, at times played more out of position than Lavine did. Lavine was traditionally guarding two guards and for someone who is as athletic and quick twitch and fast, I just felt like there should have been better defensive performances or better effort too on the defensive end. D Rozan, I still want that. I’m not going to give him a a free pass. I just think if I’m looking at the two, I thought D Rozan consistently gave you more offensive production. They both struggled defensively, but I think if we’re looking at the two D Rozan was more of a net positive with his offense and his defense, you know, the game I still that sticks out to me probably the most on his horrific defensive end would have been when they played the Nuggets here and you just look at the matchup and I think the Kings that night put Sabonis on Joker. Makes sense. Keegan guarded um Michael Porter Jr. and I think even maybe Jamal Murray if I’m not mistaken and so they said all right look and I think this was Mike Brown at the time we are going to put Deamar De Rozan on Aaron Gordon and that was ugly absolutely ugly mismatch so that’s more of a roster construction flaw and maybe even a coaching scheme thing at the time than I mean I still have to blame D Rozan you’re the guy guarding the players but that that was a mismatch so when I’m looking at that breakdown of those guys. That’s where I fall in line as far as what I saw last year. So now, in fairness, if they’re both back, a camp together, a camp with Shruder, a camp with Doug Christie, maybe a ch a little tweak to the offense, who knows? I don’t know what we’re going to look at, but if that is the group that they have, it’s got to get better defensively for sure. And if Shruder’s not cutting it defensively, then we’re going to see Ellis in there more and Carter in there more. And you know, Monk could still give him some pretty electrifying offense. So that’s where Scott Perry continues to have to I keep using the term thread the needle of if he’s going to change the roster with the criteria that I wrote this down yesterday. I still think I have my paper here. Yeah. Of guys that he’s looking for. And I think Shruder fits some of this for sure. Toughness, competitiveness, team oriented, professional, accountable, and disciplined. That’s what I think he drafted. That’s what I think he’s trying for in free agency. And if you could start to get more and more of that involved in your team, that’s how you build culture. So, Shruder to me as far as like last year when the season started and I I don’t have all the point guards in front of me, but De’aran Fox would have been I would say if the 30 team starting point guards probably top eight. Is that fair? I don’t know. I’m without, you know, rattling them all off, but Darren Fox was definitely a top 10 point guard in the league. Dennis Shruder, I would not say, is in the top 10. I don’t know where he is amongst the 30 back second 15 somewhere in there 20-ish maybe there’s some teams that have worse point guards. Um but then that’s when you start to look across the team. He goes shooting guards Zack Lavine he’s one of the better shooting guards. I don’t know where he ranks amongst the top 30 but these are your potential starters. Demar D Rozan small forward you know middle to top third of the pack. I don’t know somewhere in there. Keegan Murray middleish. Sabonis near the top. So you you’re drifting as far as your five. You you’ve got some I would say in the top 10, maybe two at best. The rest outside the top 10 and maybe some in the backside of the second half. That that’s tough. And then then you go, do you have a great bench? Well, that’s where some of these new guys are coming in. And what does the bench look like? Like Shruder ideally might be a bench point guard, but he’s going to be the starting point guard. Um, I think too often the way the roster is constructed right now, you’re kind of back into that out of position, out of size. Maybe Keegan should be a three, D Rozan should be a two, but right now you’d feel D Rozan’s the three and Keegan’s the four. So, this is what they’re trying to adjust to. D Rozan, excuse me, Shruder is just one piece to that puzzle. And, uh, we’re going to hear more from him tomorrow because he’s actually, um, I think having a meet and greet with the media. I think it’s either today or tomorrow. So, we’ll have some more of what he says about his fit in Sacramento and what the Kings are saying about his fit in Sacramento. All right, as far as audio from the Kings, well, we got some of that coming for you next because the Kings did have their first summer league practice. We’ll get some thoughts on how that looks.

Dennis Schroder is officially a Sacramento King.

What can Schroder’s addition do for this current Kings lineup? Jason Ross goes player-by-player in breaking down the new Sacramento starting five.

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