KZ Okpala, Chima Moneke earn roster spots on Mike Brown's squad

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A 4-0 preseason means very little in the grand scheme of things. Once the regular season begins on Wednesday, the Sacramento Kings’ record goes back to 0-0 like every other NBA team and the grind begins.

We could dissect the defensive stats and try to figure out how the Kings gave up the least points out of any NBA team during the preseason, but four games is a small sample size by any measure and the quality of opponent isn’t consistent from one quarter to the next when you’re dealing with 20 man rosters.

The true value, specifically for this season’s Kings team, may be the development of two young prospects who have gone from battling for roster spots to potential rotational players in the span of two weeks.

There should be time to write the individual stories of KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke in the future. With the final cut day looming, a league source confirmed to The Kings Beat that both have made the Kings’ opening day roster, as well as veteran point guard Matthew Dellavedova. Shooting guard Sam Merrill is being waived to get down to the league mandate of 15, plus the team's two-way way players, Neemias Queta and Keon Ellis.

How did we get here? How did a player who was traded and then waived during last season start three of the four preseason games and be in line for an opening night starting job? How did an undrafted young man from UC Davis play overseas for years and then find his way back to Northern California where he was defending NBA legend LeBron James on Friday night?

The answer is simple. Mike Brown.

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