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The Doug Christie era of Kings basketball began on Saturday and it looked eerily similar to the end of the Mike Brown era that concluded on Friday. This is an unfair assessment, with Christie having a little over 24 hours to prepare for his first game, but it doesn’t change the look, feel or result for the team. 

Christie kept the same basic rotations that we saw from Brown through the first 31 games of the season, although there were a few new wrinkles. This makes sense when you consider that Christie was in charge of substitutions under Brown.

This isn’t to say that Christie made all the decisions on who played and who didn’t. Those decisions fall on the head coach. But Christie had the substitution sheet that Jordi Fernandez handled the year before and he kept the basic rotation going, especially in the first half of games.

Some of the differences we saw in game one from Christie were the combinations of players used together. Brown centered on a trio of Malik Monk, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan as one grouping and the combo of De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray as a second pairing. 

In Christie’s first game, he tweaked these rotations, using Monk, Sabonis and Murray in one set and Fox and DeRozan as a different set when he mixed in the second unit. In theory, this should have given Murray a lot more opportunities as an off-ball shooter playing alongside the two-man game of Monk and Sabonis. Unfortunately, Murray shot 2-for-7 from the field and just 1-of-6 from three for five points.

Similar to Brown’s rotations, Christie relied on both Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles as his two primary bench players with Keon Ellis and Alex Len getting limited minutes. Neither Huerter nor Lyles had standout games and Christie went away from Len in the second half, in the same way that Brown routinely did this season.

The Ellis conundrum is something that Christie must deal with. The fan favorite continues to shine on both sides of the ball. He is the Kings’ best perimeter defender and he’s also one of the team leaders in 3-point percentage, hitting a quality 42.6 percent on 3.1 attempts per game. 

In game one, Christie played Ellis for just 13 minutes and the 24-year-old responded by hitting 4-for-4 from the field and scoring 11 points. There is an energy and intensity that Ellis brings to the court that the Kings need, but he’s competing for minutes with Fox and Monk in the backcourt. 

Christie’s Kings still lack the size, length and athleticism in the frontcourt to compete with most NBA teams, which needs to be addressed by general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox. Ellis can’t help in that area and his path to an increased role is about to get more complicated.

While the Kings were busy in Los Angeles, the Stockton Kings took the court at Golden 1 Center for a showcase game. Rookie Devin Carter made his G League debut after missing all summer following left shoulder surgery and he looked very good for a player who hasn’t seen game action since March 15 when he was a star for the Providence Friars.

Carter managed to post 29 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in 32 minutes, but he looked gassed in his first pro competition. He knocked down 11-of-18 from the field and 6-for-9 from three in the win.

Listed at 6-foot-2.25, Carter is more of a combo guard than a true point guard. He has an incredible 6-foot-9 wingspan and a nose for the ball on the defensive end, but he also hasn’t played in nine months and will need time to acclimate to the league.

There is a chance that Christie turns to the rookie off the bench alongside Ellis in a defensive-minded disruptive backcourt. There is also the possibility that Ellis finds himself further lost in a sea of guards in Sacramento. 

Carter was recalled from Stockton on Sunday morning and there is a chance he’ll make his NBA debut against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night. This adds another lively body, but further complicates the Kings’ lack of size on the court. On the plus side, Carter is an exceptional rebounder for a guard and he plays bigger than his listed height. 

ESPN’s Shams Charania turned to twitter on Sunday morning to announce that the Lakers had traded for Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. Heading to Brooklyn is D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second round picks.

This is a tough one for Sacramento fans. A month ago, the Kings were in on the Finney-Smith sweepstakes. According to league sources, Sacramento had even made an offer for the 31-year-old defensive specialist. 

The haul for Finney-Smith isn’t all that impressive. Unfortunately for Sacramento, they didn’t have a similar package of picks to offer due to some questionable moves over the last two summers. 

If you can’t compete with the Lakers for a 31-year-old Finney-Smith averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, what does that say about your assets? The faint of heart might want to skip this next section.

In the summer of 2023, McNair and Wilcox sent a pair of second round selections to the Indiana Pacers for Chris Duarte, including the Dallas Mavericks’ 2028 second and their own 2030 second. 

As part of a three-team sign-and-trade this last summer, the Kings sent Duarte, along with their 2025 second round pick and their own 2028 second to the Bulls as part of the DeMar DeRozan acquisition. That deal also sent Harrison Barnes and a potential 2031 pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs. 

In addition to the trades above, McNair and Wilcox sent two second round selections to the Toronto Raptors, along with Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov, in a salary dump that brought back Jalen McDaniels. One of the second round picks was Sacramento’s 2024 selection and the second was a 2025 second rounder from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Sacramento later sent McDaniels to the San Antonio Spurs, along with their 2031 second round pick, in a second salary dump. To add insult to injury, Vezenkov opted to return to Europe and walked away from his $6.6 million salary for this season.

When you add this series of moves to the trade that brought Huerter to Sacramento, the Kings have very little draft capital to work with. 

The Huerter trade sends a top 12 protected pick to the Atlanta Hawks in 2025. If the pick doesn’t relay in 2025 (the Kings are currently 8th in the lottery), then it becomes a top 10 protected pick in 2026. If the 2026 pick doesn’t relay, the first round selection dissolves and becomes the Kings’ 2026 and 2027 second round picks.

What does all of this mean? Basically, the Kings have already traded their 2025, 2028, 2030 and 2031 second round picks and their 2026 and 2027 second rounders are tied up in the Huerter transaction. 

Sacramento can’t trade their 2025 or 2026 first rounders due to the Huerter trade. They also can’t technically trade their 2027 first rounder because of the Stepein Rule that blocks teams from trading consecutive future first round selections. 

To sum it all up, the Kings have a 2025 second round selection from the Chicago Bulls, but it’s protected 31-55 (yes, you read that correctly). They also have their own 2029 second round pick to work with. They have unencumbered 2028, 2029 and 2030 first rounders, although they can’t trade consecutive years. 

They also potentially have access to a 2027 first round pick, although it’s complicated. The team has their 2031 first available, but any team that takes it on understands that the Spurs can steal the Kings’ draft position. Of course the Spurs will also likely have Victor Wembanyama in his prime in 2031, so that pick has questionable value. 

Just to confuse all of this, the Kings now sit near the bottom in the Western Conference standings at 13-19. Their prized addition this summer was a 35-year-old DeRozan who is under contract for this season and next, with a $10 million team option for the 2026-27 season. 

Sacramento’s star point guard, De’Aaron Fox, has refused to sign an extension in each of the last two summers and has pressured the franchise to make moves to improve the roster in the last two weeks. 

Fox wants help. Ownership wants wins. Fans are crushed after a sniff of the good life. McNair and Wilcox might not have the ability to address the lack of talent on the roster that they failed to address in the offseason. Mike Brown, who won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award two years ago and signed an extension six months ago, already lost his job.

I could keep going for another four or five paragraphs, but I think you get the point. There isn’t an easy fix. The road ahead is dark and filled with pitfalls. The Kings are going through a major reality check moment.  

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