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The Sacramento Kings didn’t put their best foot forward during Sunday afternoon’s 105-85 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers and they now sit at 0-3 for the preseason schedule. With two more games on the docket before the regular season, they have work to do.

Through three games, the Kings are shooting just 24.8 percent from 3-point range while allowing their opponents to hit 44 percent from deep. They’ve averaged 18 turnovers a game in the first three games, including 27 turnovers against the Blazers on Sunday. 

Overall, the play has been sloppy, but it’s preseason. Head coach Mike Brown has used a combination of surefire rotational players and a handful of NBA hopefuls to piece together a squad, including Isaac Jones, Isaiah Crawford, Mason Jones and Boogie Ellis.

The veterans have done a nice job of pushing the tempo and getting out on the break, and each of the younger players have had moments. It hasn’t been pretty, but that is what preseason basketball is usually about -- shaking off rust and making mistakes.

There are moments when the Kings have looked like a cohesive unit and others when they are a complete mess. Hopefully this inconsistent play doesn’t bleed too deep into the regular season.

Reinforcements are here

Jordan McLaughlin made his Kings debut on Sunday and made an immediate impact. The 28-year-old point guard is a disruptive defensive player and knows his role on the offensive side of the ball.

Against Portland, McLaughlin posted 10 points on 2-for-3 shooting from long range in 19 minutes. Despite missing all of training camp with a grade 2 ankle sprain, he showed very little signs of rust.

In addition to McLaughlin, the Kings received great news on Kevin Huerter. After more than six months of rehab for a torn labrum in his left shoulder, the sharpshooting wing has been cleared to resume full contact. He has already started the return to play process and there is potential for him to be ready for the start of the regular season on Oct. 24 when the Kings host the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I’m eager, I want to get back, I want to be back on the court with this team,” Huerter told media members following Monday’s practice. “I’m excited to get in with this group, but like I said, it’s a long season, 82, when I come back, I want to be here to stay, not in and out of the lineup.”

I missed Monday’s practice due to a scheduling conflict, but our friend Sean Cunningham has the video of Huerter up. During the clip, Huerter also confirmed that he is done wearing a headband after having such a traumatic experience on the court with the shoulder injury. For now, “Headband Huerter” is a thing of the past.

On Monday afternoon, the franchise made the decision to move forward without one of their offseason veteran acquisitions when, according to a league source, they traded Jalen McDaniels, as well as a 2031 second round pick and cash considerations to the San Antonio Spurs. According to our friend Michael Scotto at HoopsHype.com, the Kings received a heavily protected 2025 second round pick (top 55 protected) in the trade. 

This is an interesting turn of events for the Kings. McDaniels was acquired from the Toronto Raptors on June 28 for Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov and a 2025 second round pick. He had one year remaining on his contract and was set to make $4.7 million this season.

McDaniels didn’t stand out during the preseason schedule, but at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot wingspan, the 26-year-old appeared to fit the team’s need for length and athleticism. But his salary may have been an issue.

Depending on what site you are looking at, the Kings were roughly a million under the league’s $170.8 million luxury tax before this trade, although that could change when final cuts are made. With the trade, they have moved close to six million under the tax and approximately $13 million under the first apron. 

The NBA’s first apron, set at $178.1 million, is an important mark for the Kings. When they acquired DeMar DeRozan via sign-and-trade, it hard capped the team at the first apron. They can’t go above that figure this season. 

What does all of this mean? It could be nothing. It could also be a move that precipitates a move.

Sacramento could be saving a few million in cap money and giving themselves some room below the luxury tax. They have never been a tax paying team and the allure of collecting part of the revenue sharing given to non-tax paying teams is appealing. 

General manager Monte McNair could also use this space in a few different ways. He can sign a free agent or two and still remain below the tax. He could also try to sign or trade for a player who makes around the non-tax payer mid-level exception set at $12.8 million for this season. Lastly, the Kings could use the space as part of a bigger trade when they take back more than they send out.

The key is that the Kings now have more options today than they did yesterday. If they believe that McDaniels wasn’t part of the plan this season or if they can use a younger player to eat those same minutes, then moving off of his money could come in handy in a variety of different ways. 

Despite a disappointing preseason, the Kings still have two more games before the regular season begins to try and get on the right track. They hopped a plane for Utah on Monday where they’ll play the Jazz Tuesday night at 6 PM. Like Sunday’s game, you’ll have to tune into Kings.com to watch the action. 

Following the game in Utah, the Kings will make their way to LA where the Clippers are set to open their new arena on Thursday evening. It’s a 7:30 PM start and again, you can find the game on Kings.com.

Once the preseason schedule is behind them, the Kings have a week off before opening the regular season against the Timberwolves. During this stretch, the team will have to finalize the roster to get down to the mandatory number of 15 regular spots and three two-way players.