Changing of the guards: Why Mike Brown turned to Chris Duarte at the two

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Mike Brown isn’t waiting around for the NBA trade deadline. He has a team that has been good, but erratic throughout the first half of the season. As the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, it is on him to work with the players who are on the roster, not pine over potential acquisitions.

Mired in a prolonged shooting slump, Kevin Huerter was the first Kings starter to lose his job when Brown turned to Chris Duarte in the club’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Brown hasn’t committed to anything long term with Duarte, but it doesn’t sound like he made this move without plenty of thought.

“He was not a one-time thing,” Brown said on Tuesday before the Kings’ loss to the Charlotte Hornets at Golden 1 Center. “It’s a change that we made, that right now, we’re going to continue to take a look at going forward.”

Duarte responded well in his second straight start, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of play. Unfortunately, the Kings fell apart against a bad Hornets team that had lost 11 straight, were playing on the second night of a back-to-back and missing four starters.

The outcome of the game was not what the Kings hoped it would be, but Duarte’s play gives Brown some positives to take away from a clunker. He was active on the glass, finishing with four offensive rebounds, three of which he finished for six second chance points.

Duarte also played within the flow of the offense and showed off the physical brand of defense that he is known for. After a two game sample size, Duarte is looking like a very good fit with the rest of the starters. 

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