Sunday Musings: Kings lose Keegan Murray to injury, how do they fill the void?

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There is a reason that the Sacramento Kings are always attached to trade rumors involving forwards like Jonathan Kuminga, Cam Johnson, John Collins, OG Anunoby and Kyle Kuzma. The team lacks depth at the forward position. They lack length and athleticism and that is when they have a healthy Keegan Murray ready to play 35 minutes a game.

Sacramento’s inability to land one of those types of players is a problem and so is the injury to Murray that the team announced on Sunday afternoon. 

When the Kings informed media that Murray wouldn’t return to open the second half of Friday’s 123-122 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers due to a thumb injury, there was concern. That concern has now reached critical mass when the team confirmed that Murray sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb that will require surgery. The team will re-evaluate the injury in 4-6 weeks. 

The injury likely occurred on the final play of the half when Murray pulled a rebound away from Shaedon Sharpe, hit a bank shot and was fouled by Sharpe on a swipe down. 

Entering his fourth season out of Iowa, Murray is the Kings’ most versatile defender and one of the top shooters on the roster, despite his slow start to the preseason. 

The 25-year-old is also currently in negotiations for a new contract extension according to league sources. It’s unlikely that an injury like this will impact those negotiations, although the two sides have just eight days before the October 20th deadline for rookie scale extensions. 

This is one of those injuries that causes a ripple effect through a franchise. Best case scenario has Murray missing somewhere around 12 to 13 regular season games if he is somehow cleared after a month off. Worst case is Murray sitting 20 games and possibly more. It should be noted that the 4-6 weeks distinction is for re-evaluation, not return to play. This injury could potentially keep Murray out until after Thanksgiving and possibly into early December.

“Man, it sucks,” DeMar DeRozan told media members following Sunday’s practice. “It’s unfortunate, not just for us, but for him. I know he wants to be out there, he wants to play, so it’s definitely unfortunate for something like that to happen, especially in a preseason game.”

Hat tip to our friend Sean Cunningham, who made it out to media availability on Sunday. 

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What are the options?

This is a complicated question. Murray is going to potentially miss a quarter of the season and he is probably the most irreplaceable player on the roster. 

“It’s like next man up,” DeRozan said. “Everybody else has got to step up and do even more knowing we’re missing a key player.”

The next man up mentality isn’t as simple as it sounds. The Kings don’t have another 6-foot-8 combo forward on the roster who can bounce back and forth between the three and the four.

“It’s tough because Keegan has size, strength, athleticism and he shoots 40 percent [from 3-point range], I think everyone is looking for that,” head coach Doug Christie told media members on Sunday. “We have a couple of different guys that can equal Keegan, but we don’t have Keegan, so replacing him is definitely going to be difficult.” 

Christie was slightly evasive when asked who might fill the role right off the bat, but he has 10 days to figure it out before the regular season kicks off in Phoenix against the Suns on Oct. 22.

“The next few days we’re going to try a couple of different things, get a look at a couple of different things before we dive into it,” head coach Doug Christie said. “Even with that being said, we’ve got two preseason games left, so we’ve still got some time.”

At power forward, they have veterans Drew Eubanks, Dario Saric, as well as second-year big man Isaac Jones. Eubanks has played some four in preseason, although he’s more of a five. He’s shot a total of 53 3-pointers in his seven years in the NBA, which could be a big issue playing alongside Domantas Sabonis. 

Saric looked good against the Blazers in preseason, hitting all four of his 3-point shots, but he isn’t a defender and he played a total of 16 games last season for the Denver Nuggets. Saric is a complete unknown at this point of his career, but at least he has some experience.

Jones spent most of last season on a two-way contract after going undrafted out of Washington State. He is more of a four/five than a true power forward, but he’s worked on his 3-point shooting and might be able to stretch the floor a bit. The question is whether he can defend against more versatile forwards, but the same question could be asked of Eubanks and Saric.

Christie also has the option of going small at the power spot. He could shift veteran DeMar DeRozan over from his small forward position or even use sharp shooter Doug McDermott to fill the void for short stints. 

If DeRozan is the answer, that could put rookie Nique Clifford in line to move into the starting small forward position, but that would leave the Kings completely undersized with this tandem of 6-foot-6 players flanking a 6-foot-10 Sabonis at center. 

Lastly, the Kings could try something completely different, like turning to rookie 7-footer Maxime Raynaud and shifting Sabonis to power forward. Raynaud can shoot the three, rebound and has some versatility as a defender, but he’s a second round pick entering his first season in the league. Like many of the other options, he isn’t a perfect fit, at least not today.

Are there outside options?

The lack of depth at the four was the reason the Kings pushed to land Kuminga via trade. Even with a healthy Murray, the front office knows that there is an issue with depth and versatility at the position. 

General manager Scott Perry still has time to either sign a player from the free agent pool or swing a trade for a player who can crack the rotation. There isn’t an easy solution on the open market and if there was, that player would likely already be on another roster. 

Trey Lyles spent the last three and a half seasons in Sacramento, but he left the NBA this summer to sign with Real Madrid. Whether he has an NBA escape clause is unknown, but it’s unlikely this early in the season. 

Jae Crowder spent last season in Sacramento, although he played a total of 109 minutes over nine games. At 35 years old, there might not be anything left in the tank. The same could be said for P.J. Tucker (40), James Johnson (38), Markieff Morris (36) and Torrey Craig (34). 

There are some younger options, like Kai Jones, JT Thor, Dominick Barlow and Bol Bol, but no one that is guaranteed to earn a spot in the rotation, let alone step in and start on day 1. 

Perry can look into the trade market, but there might not be a lot of movement on that front as teams work through preseason. Maybe a player or two gets cut closer to the start of the regular season, but that requires the Kings to wait and then try to get someone up to speed on the fly.

The reality

This isn’t an injury that the Kings were prepared to face. No team is really in a position to lose a starter for the first month or so of the season, but this specific player is tough for the Kings with their lack of length and athleticism on the wings. 

Christie and his staff have some time to make adjustments to deal with the loss, but they could also use a lifeline from the front office. The roster currently stands at 15 regular roster players and three two-ways. Terence Davis is on a non-guaranteed deal, which means the Kings have some flexibility.

But the reality is that there might not be an outside option that can make a difference and the best path forward might be to mix and match players while searching for an answer. This isn’t ideal, but it also isn’t season ending for either Murray or the Kings.