Taking A Look At The Sacramento Kings Roster Depth

Taking A Look At The Sacramento Kings Roster Depth

Again, they’d rather go with a lower level free agent like Equinane St. Brown and then give their young guys reps and hope that one of them is good at football instead of signing a veteran that they know they can play. At least that’s kind of what what uh they’ve done in the past. Let’s talk some Kings roster. We’re going to do this yesterday and we kick the can down the road today or to today and I and I want to make sure we get this in because we’ve talked so much about uh does do the Kings sign another point guard? Who starts? What does this look like? Where are they at with adding Jonathan Kaminga? All this other stuff. Where does Devin Carter play? So, I want to go position by position. Figure out who’s on the roster that can play that position and what the depth chart we think kind of kind of looks like right now with the roster as as constructed. So, at point guard, I would be shocked if anybody but Dennis Rutder is starting. Yeah. I mean, I think that there is an avenue where you could say, “Hey, look, um, we’re going to have an open competition between Malink Monk and Dennis Shruder. Shruder is a better defender. Uh, Monk is a, you know, I don’t know. They’re very similar as far as players. I I wouldn’t be totally shocked. I I think it would be easier to start Malik again with Dennis Shruder there than it was when you didn’t have someone that could be another Malik Monk off the bench. So you think realistically Malik Monk has a chance to start a point guard for the Kings this year? Probably not. But I would at least have like say walk into camp saying hey every job is up for grabs. You can’t do that. You don’t think so? I mean te theoretically yes. Kyle Shanahan always says with the Niners training camp, every ca every every job is open. Fred Warner is not fighting for his job. Nick Bosa is not fighting for his job. Brock Party is not fighting for his job. Let’s keep it a stack. Yeah, I would be floored if Scott Perry walked into his first press conference, said the first thing this team needs is a point guard, and then they overpay Dennis Shruder to bring in Dennis Shruder and then go, “Actually, you’re going to come in behind Malik Monk, though. No chance. No chance. I mean, if I never say never, I would be shocked if they did that. And honestly, I would lamb base the signing even more. Okay. But if it’s a player that hasn’t isn’t just like a a guaranteed starter, you know what I mean? Because I I think that, you know, that’s that’s the problem you have when you have then I mean, all right, let’s be honest. Dennis Shruder, like again, you can love it the signing, hate the signing. I mean, he started eight of his 28 games with Detroit last year and 18 of his 24 with the Warriors and and 23 of his 23 with Brooklyn. My goodness, he played for three teams. Um, right. So, so he started on the team that didn’t have a point guard. He didn’t start on the team that had Steph Curry, and he didn’t start on the team that had Ted Cunningham. Yeah. Yeah. But but if you look at he started 49 out of 75, but for his career, he started 424 out of 842 games. No, I know. And this isn’t this isn’t a Dennis Shruder has to start because Dennis Shruder is awesome. This is a Scott Perry made it very clear they needed a point guard and then they made it very clear that Dennis Shruder is the point guard they needed. Yeah. If you bring him in and then go actually Malik Monk is going to start what? That would be that would be nuts to me. That would that would be if you’re that confident that Malik Monk could be your starting point guard, then what was the whole Dennis Rutder thing for? No, I’m with you. I’m with you. But I’d also say like Malik Monk was your starter at the end of the season until he got hurt and then you when you brought him back, you brought him back off the bench and and he was the starter and he was so much the starter that Scott Perry went, “This is not going to work this roster. It needs a point guard.” Yes. It was the whole deal. It was the whole thing. I I I understand. I I I get it. If Malik Monk is better than Dennis Shruder at point guard, the Kings have a problem. Yeah. In my opinion. Well, I mean, like I think they have a problem either way. I think basically they’re trying to turn two point guards that are, you know, basically would rank in the 20s as starting point guards and somewhere in the in, you know, between 20 and 30. Sure. in the league in starting point guards and you’re trying to convert that into one starting level like higher starting level point guard. Intruder’s a starter. Monk is probably your second. Okay. Because I don’t think they have another player on their roster unless Nick Clifford makes a preseason leap as the primary ball handler. Mhm. I I know. Like people were saying, you know, like they signed Dennis if he’s not going to be the starter, then like look, this this guy has never been he’s never been guaranteed a starting job ever in his career. I get I get it’s not about Dennis Shruder. Yeah. It’s about Scott Perry. This is a Scott Perry thing. If Scott Perry went, “This team needs a point guard first and foremost above all else. Forget everything else I have on my agenda. Point guard first.” Yep. And then they sign that point guard and then he doesn’t even start. Well, he that that implies that they didn’t need a point guard. Well, yeah, but the level of point guard that you got isn’t just head and shoulders above what you already had. Why didn’t you pay him $14 million? Why didn’t you just go get one of the cheaper guys? Hey, man. I just I’m just gonna tell you, hey, he has to start. This is what he has to start. the same logic that we use every other time. I Malik Monk makes $4 million more almost $5 million more a year than Dennis Shruder. Like straight up, I guess. Hey, I guess if I have two guys that one of them’s way younger, one of them they both played the same exact position. They both have had times where they’re a starter and times where they’re coming off the bench. To me, it’s realistically it’s a coin flip. I think Shruder’s a better defender. So that’s probably what gives him the head the the advantage in the starting lineup. But outside of that, like I I’m not like, hey, if I’m having a training camp battle, that’s one of them right there. That’s a training camp battle. I told you the other day, there are only two players that I think today are guaranteed starting jobs. If the Kings went from We’ll revisit what you just said, but if the Kings went I’m going to beat this dead horse. If the Kings went from not from starting Malik Monk to the point and having that go to the point where their GM said we need a point guard first and foremost and then they bring in a point guard and then Malik Monk is in all these trade rumors and oh Malik Monk may not fit what they’re trying to do and oh they’re going to trade Malik Monk for Dennis Shruder and then Malik Monk winds up starting over Dennis Shruder. That’s a tough pill for me to swallow. Okay, that’s tough. Well, I don’t think Malik Monk is a starting NBA point guard. Yeah, but I I also I mean, can keep it keep it real? I don’t think Dennis Ruterson’s starting NBA point guard either. Sure. Okay, I guess. Then why’d you sign him? Well, you signed him because he’s still a good player. It’s not that he’s a bad player, but I mean again, he started almost exactly half of his 842 career games. Like, so how many’s Malik started? Um, that’s a good question. Malik has started, he first of all, he hasn’t played 800 games. Um, he’s uh he started 83 of his his 523, right? All right. But again, he started 45 out of 65 games last year. Why? Why did he start last year? He started due to a trade. Well, no, because he didn’t have a point guard. Well, no, he started the shooting guard first. You remember they moved him into the starting lineup alongside Darren Fox. That’s right. That’s right. That’s right. That’s right. They started him because Kevin Hurder forgot how to play, right? Yeah. So, hey, look, I’m just saying like if I’m having a an a true honest open competition um you know, training camp, my I know my starting center is Demonus Sabonis. I know my starting power forward is Keegan Murray. Outside of that, I you pro you you probably know that Zack Lavine is your starting shooting guard. I don’t know about Demar De Rozan if you want to like somebody has to play off the bench and score. Okay, I’m having an open competition for it. Okay, let there’s Man, we should have started the show with this. Okay, Kenny, we’re taking this way into way into Dong Casey. Yeah. So, let’s go. Let’s just Shruder Monk are are there point guard options who starts TBD, I guess. Is are you keeping Mason Jones as your 15th guy to be the third point guard? Did he show enough in summer league or are you rocking with uh Devin Carter, Zack Lavine can run some point, Demard Rosen can can handle the ball and you just try and piece it together if you need if you need to get down to a third point guard. It’s tough, man, because I I think like again Devin Carter’s on the roster. If he’s on the roster right now, which you know that of course is what’s happening. If he’s on the roster, then you have to at least have some spot. Like, I’m not going to sign a 26-year-old Mason Jones, put myself into the luxury tax or real close to it. Yeah. Um, so he can be the third point guard, maybe. So, he can be He’s 27. So, he can be a third Hey, happy birthday to Mason Jones who turned 27 yesterday. Hey, salute. Yeah. Um, I’m just not going to put him in a starting I mean I’m not going to sign him when I know I have a player who can do some of the same things he can. Yeah. And then that’s just tough for Mason. Now, if you’re going to keep 15 men on the roster, maybe they do a non-G guaranteed deal. And we also, we don’t know what Doug McDermott’s contract is either as far as guaranteed money versus not because I’m pretty sure last year he had like 800,000 guaranteed. Mhm. And then they had until like right before the trade deadline to wave him or to guarantee the money in January and then they ended up keeping him. Um, but, uh, I I definitely, you know, if you’re looking at a a budget option, um, Mason Jones would at least be that. And you could at least give him a a contract that was, you know, a league minimum deal. Sure. That, um, that isn’t fully guaranteed. Okay. I don’t want to think about Mason Jones anymore for the time being. No. Uh, salute to to him for having a birthday yesterday, but I’m taking him off my chart here. Yep. I take him off your chart. Okay. Zack Lavine starting at shooting guard. I would put that in stone. You’re less certain. I think that that’s probably what’s going to happen. I do. Um but I also, you know, stranger things have happened. I would be over the moon if the Kings approached this season in a way that was, yeah, Zach can come off the bench. No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure Keon is is gonna come off the bench. I think so, too. So, so Lavine, if we’re just listing out a depth chart, Lavine’s at the top and then I’ve got Keon behind him. And is Devin Carter your third shooting guard? Yeah. I mean, technically, technically, because I don’t know. Although, if I’m if I’m giving a third shooting guard minutes, it’s probably Nick Clifford. Probably Nate. Yeah. Yeah. I’d rather I’d rather give him those minutes at this point. You’re going to have to steal minutes from from positions all all day long. Plus, like look, your third shooting guard is is probably it’s probably Malik Monk. He’s your backup point guard. Like you’re going to play Dennis Shruder and Malik Monk more than a combined 48 minutes. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. They’re going to eat play together a lot. Yeah. I think we’re going to see, you know, like that’s going to that position is like 54 to 56 minutes. Mhm. Um between those two players. That’s what they’re going to play on this season. So you got to figure out how that that happens. 54 to 56 combined combined minutes. Oh, got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. At a position where you only have 48 minutes, right? So you’re going to steal six to eight minutes from the shooting guard position for where they’re going to play together. So are we taking Terrence Davis off the list? Yeah. I mean, Terrence Davis is going to have a tough time making the team. Yeah. Um because of the depth at the position. Now, if you if the Kings move on from uh a guy like Devin Carter, then sure, I could I could easily see Terrence Davis making the team, but they haven’t moved on from Devin Carter. Yeah. So, you know, it’s tough. Moving to small forward. Mhm. Demard Rosen probably starts probably. And then Nick Clifford should probably get a lot of minutes there. You would hope so because your other options are now Doug McDermott and maybe Isaiah Crawford. Yeah, I would I would even add Well, Isaiah Crawford, first of all, hasn’t even signed a two-way contract. So, he’s still on the bubble as to whether or not he’s going to be around or not. He’s off the list. He’s gone. Take him off the list. Yeah, that’s fine. So, the guy that I if I’m looking at that position, um I’m going to want to cut Deamar down to like 28 minutes and I’m going to want NE to play close to 20. Mhm. And I I don’t even know if that’s feasible because I mean, we’re talking about, you know, again, that point guard position needing an extra 6 to8 minutes. We get to the shooting guard position. I mean, Zack Lavine, I’m going to put a 20 I mean, 32 minutes. I’m gonna put Keon Ellis at a guy who needs like 24 minutes plus. Yeah. And that right there is 56 minutes. So, I’m now over budget. So, I need to steal. Yeah. And so, hey, is there a world in which I could see a uh a starting back court of Dennis Shruder and Keon Ellis with Zack Lavine at the three? Yes, there is that world. I mean, Zack Lavine and and Demard Rosen are literally the same height. Like we can talk, oh he’s not really. It’s like, yeah, he’s played plenty of small forward. Yeah. Yeah. And and I guarantee you this, like Zack Lavine is a better athlete than Demar Rosen at 30 versus 30 35 36. Yes. Absolutely. And then Doug McDermott’s also there. Moving to power forward, Keegan Murray’s going to start. Yep. Pencil that in. Isaac Jones. That’s where it gets tough, man. Isaac Jones. Um, you know, your your like quoteunquote true fours are are I mean Keegan Murray’s not even a to me a true four, but he has to be for the purposes of of the of the Kings roster. Mhm. I I’m trying not to get swept up in the last couple of summer league games, but I’m tying in what we saw last regular season, too, the the flashes you saw from Isaac Jones where you felt good about him as a as a potential NBA player. I think you if when when Dario Sarich is your other option, I I I to me I’m I’m rolling with Isaac Jones and I’m feeling really good about the decision. Well, that and even Dario Sarich, I again, I’m I’m gonna keep saying this. I don’t even know if he makes a team. And if he does, there’s a chance he makes a team because you want his $5.5 million salary to to trade him down the road. Um, you know, to for potentially part of another transaction. Yeah. Um, which is why I was always so hard on Monty and West for actually giving away a second round pick to get rid of McDaniels last year. It was crazy cuz it’s like, hey, look, man. Number one, you could have traded him at the deadline as part of a larger package, which clearly you could have done. Number two, you could have just stretch provisioned him and and paid and saved three million bucks right there. Yep. And and kept moving, but no, they gave up a second round pick for it. Yeah. Hopefully the the SAR ad is is more strategic uh down the line. Yeah. than just the immediacy of okay Denver wants Valenunis we can get Sarge back we’ll shed $5 million and figure out the rest later I hope there’s more to this than that where they are going okay if we can’t add him in a trade we’re ready to stretch provision him and we’ll be done with that I just I I don’t think there’s any basketball reason for Dario Sarich to play legitimate minutes for the Kings no I would agree with you unless it’s a breaking case of emergency you have a sure bunch of injuries or you know something h happens to Keegan and you’re like we can’t live with uh Isaac Jones as like the lone power forward on this roster for long term. Yeah. I I definitely could see even like if Dario Sarge was the option like Trey Lyles to me is a more functional NBA player than Dario Sarich. Yeah. Oh, by I I think by a lot. Yeah. And I mean I would have rather had Trey back on a league minimum deal than Dario Sarich. Do you know how many games Dario Sar played for Denver last year? No. 16. He played 13 minutes a night in those 16 games. Yeah, that’s crazy. Also, another crazy thing, if you had asked me just off the rip, how old is Dario Saracha said like 35? No, he’s like 31. Yeah. Okay. I thought he was 29, 30. 31. Like he’s been in the league for 20 years. Yeah. He’s just been around. I think Daario might even fall into like the Alex Lynn category. Like if you really really have a problem and and you need to like plug a player in like for a short stent, okay, you’ve got him. He’s going to be in the right spot. He can he can knock down a three. He’s 36% for his career. Although he shot 27% from three last year. Woof. That’s not good. But if he’s hanging out in the corner, you don’t hate the like he’s gonna uh I just don’t want to watch Dario Sarge play basketball. He’s not on this iterate not on this iteration of the things. I think they have they have more more uses for those potential minutes. Dario Sarge nicknames real quick on basketball reference. Super Daario. It’s like Super Mario. Okay, that makes sense.

Thank you for watching. Please subscribe and hit the thumbs up.

The Insiders
LIVE Mon-Fri 10a-12pPST
ESPN 1320 Sacramento, CA

D-Lo & KC
LIVE Mon-Fri 12p-4pPST
ESPN 1320 Sacramento, CA

D-Lo & KC Merchandise
dloandkc.com
shopthedopeones.com

Subscribe to the Podcast:
https://omny.fm/shows/d-lo-kc-1

ESPN 1320:
https://www.audacy.com/espn1320

🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5657035977261056