Sunday Musings: Can Keegan Murray accelerate Kings' rebuild?

Did Keegan Murray raise expectations?

It took all of 11 seconds in his first summer league game for the Kings’ rookie to catch a pass and drill a corner three. 11 seconds and thousands of Kings fans were hooked.

Of course Murray didn’t stop there. He torched a group of NBA hopefuls wearing championship Warriors colors for 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including a clean 4-of-5 from long range. He added eight rebounds and two steals to show he’s more than just a scorer.

Summer League is not the place to make snap judgements. Game 1 of the California Classic isn’t even your standard summer league. 

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The key to this group of exhibition games is to have a player look like they belong. It took mere moments for Murray to show he belongs. 

This is a good thing. This is a starting point. This is exactly what the Kings needed. 

Sacramento is having a good week. General manager Monte McNair is having a good week and Murray’s big showing was just the cherry on the top.

McNair is banking that Murray will live up to a standard No. 4 overall pick. The Kings need more than just a strong rotational player. They need Murray to develop into a third option at a minimum, and so far, they are conducting the offseason almost banking on that outcome.

There are three ways to build an NBA roster -- the draft, free agency and trade. McNair walked out of draft night with only Murray. He later added undrafted Keon Ellis on a two-way contract, and there is potential for Sasha Vezenkov, who McNair acquired with the No. 49 overall pick, to join the squad as well.

As free agency opened on Thursday, the Kings were aggressive early, adding Malik Monk on a two-year, $19 million contract in the opening moments of the negotiating period. 

McNair backed up this signing on Friday by adding another shooter in Kevin Huerter in a swap with the Atlanta Hawks. 

Both Monk and Huerter are young and have potential for improvement, but neither are considered stars in the making. They are solid rotational additions with upside. They also fit the team’s age timeline, as well as fill the biggest need in floor spacing.

So far, the Kings’ offseason is hinging upon the development and potential of Murray and moderate improvements to the rotation. The team has lost three players in Donte DiVincenzo, Moe Harkless and Justin Holiday, but the additions should cover those departures, and then some.

McNair gave up a heavily protected first round pick to acquire Huerter, which ties up the Kings’ biggest asset in draft capital for the next five years.  

Sacramento can still make changes to the roster. They have a bi-annual exception worth $4.1 million per year and the trade with Atlanta opened up an additional roster space. They also have a veteran in Harrison Barnes who is entering the final year of his contract and has plenty of value on the open market.

You can see the Kings’ plan. There should be hope for one or two more additions to build the supporting cast, but a lot of the focus is shifting to internal improvement at this point.

The tandem of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will likely decide the overall potential of this team, but Murray’s upside and the additions around the perimeter should at least give the Kings a chance to improve on their 30-win season from last year. 

Any excitement regarding Murray is warranted. Expectations as to who and what he can be in year one should be tempered, even if he continues to show promise in Summer League.

There is an outline of a very good player with potential for much more, but he is also a rookie and will have highs and lows. 

If Murray can be a strong third option or perhaps even more, then Sacramento is on a new path forward. They need to find more long term pieces to continue the build, but there is positive momentum in Kingsland. It has been a while since we could say that.   

Conservative optimism is okay, but this is a moment for McNair and his staff to continue to be aggressive. They need to look for one more move that can help solidify the short-term and long-term future of the rotation, especially if Murray can accelerate the build by walking onto the court and contributing in year one. 

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