Sunday Musings: Six key questions heading into Kings training camp

We have finally reached the end of the offseason and beginning of the build up to the 2022-23 Sacramento Kings’ season. The team will host media day on Monday, followed by training camp on Tuesday. Get ready for an incredible increase in content.

In case you have missed some of the offseason coverage, here are links to two series that help set the stage for camp.

Position Battles

Training camp battles: Breaking down Kings' depth at point guard

Training camp battles: Breaking down Kings' depth at shooting guard

Training camp battles: Breaking down Kings' depth at small forward

Training camp battles: Breaking down Kings' depth at power forward

Training camp battles: Breaking down Kings' depth at center

Potential Strengths

Sunday Musings: Kings try new approach to building roster

Sunday Musings: Can Mike Brown fix Kings defensive woes?

Sunday Musings: Can Domantas Sabonis lead Kings up rebounding ranks?

Sunday Musings: Did Kings 3-point shooting go from weakness to strength?

Like every season, there are questions heading into day 1 of camp. General manager Monte McNair has brought in a new head coach in Mike Brown to lead the club. He’s also added 10 new faces to the roster for Brown to sift through before solidifying the roster for the start of the regular season.

Here is a look at six major questions heading into media day and training camp.

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Battle at the two

Last season, Tyrese Haliburton opened as the starter with Buddy Hield coming off the bench. Both are now members of the Indiana Pacers and the Kings are starting fresh with Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk.

Huerter has the size advantage, coming in at 6-foot-7. He’s Monte McNair’s prized trade acquisition from this summer and he has all of the tools to become a long term backcourt mate with De’Aaron Fox.

Monk is coming off his best NBA season last year with the Lakers and he’s joining forces with Fox, his college teammate at Kentucky. He’s a big time scorer with range.

An early prediction has Huerter starting and playing major minutes between the two and the three, with Monk acting as a sixth man, but things can change quickly at camp.

Can Mike Brown fix the defense?

The Kings were historically bad on the defensive end two years ago and they finished 27th in defensive rating last year. McNair didn’t land a game changer on the defensive end, outside of his new head coach.

Brown has a long history of improving defenses in all of his stops. Last season with the Golden State Warriors, he helped the champs finish second in defensive rating in the NBA with an aging roster and plenty of injuries.

McNair is asking Brown to turn water into wine, but if he can move the Kings into the top 20 of NBA defenses, they have a shot of ending the franchise's 16-year playoff drought.

Can Mike Brown fix the offense?

Welcome to Sacramento, coach Brown, here is your “to do” list. Not only were the Kings bad on defense last season, but they finished 25th in offensive rating. Despite having a roster full of offensive weapons, the Kings finished 20th in field goal percentage, 24th in 3-point percentage, 22nd in assists per game and all of this while posting the league’s eighth fastest pace.

The addition of Domantas Sabonis will help in this area. So should a focused Fox and some nice offensive additions in Huerter, Monk and rookie Keegan Murray. The question might not be the players in this area, but Brown and his history of slowing things down.

Finding balance between the offensive and defensive ends is crucial to success. Becoming an efficient offense club will help the transition defense. Becoming a better defensive rebounding team will help the offense. Brown has his work cut out for him.

Who starts at the four?

When the Kings drafted Murray with the No. 4 overall pick, the thought was that he was a day 1 starter. After a tremendous showing at Summer League, both in Sacramento and Las Vegas, the legend of Keegan Murray only grew.

But the 2022-23 season is about snapping the curse and the Kings have plenty of other experienced options at the power forward position, including Trey Lyles, Chimezie Metu and even big man Richaun Holmes.

Murray is the long term answer. He should also be the short term answer, but there is at least a possibility of someone else getting a look early in the season while the 22-year-old gets his feet wet in the league.

Who makes the cut?

McNair made his major moves on draft night, via trade and through free agency within the span of a couple of days, but he didn’t stop there. The Kings’ GM continued to hand out guaranteed money throughout the summer, building the roster to a robust 20 heading into camp.

You can only take 15 regular roster players and two two-ways into the regular season, which means the Kings have to cut three players. Neemias Queta and Keon Ellis have the two-way contracts wrapped up, which leaves five or six players battling for three final spots on the main roster.

Quinn Cook and Matthew Dellavedova will likely battle for one reserve point guard spot. Sam Merrill is in an uphill battle with so many shooting guards already on the roster. Lastly, there are a glut of forwards, including KZ Okpala, Chima Moneke, Kent Bazemore and Chimezie Metu, who are all looking to prove they belong.

As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron. Of this group, all but Merrill have played for Brown in the past, be it with the Cavs, Warriors or the Nigerian National team.

Who earns a rotational spot?

For one of the few times in recent memory, there are eight players coming into camp with what seems like solidified spots in the rotation. That might leave one or one and a half openings for Brown to play with.

Fox and Davion Mitchell will handle the point guard minutes. Huerter and Monk are set to play major minutes at the two and will likely spill over into the three. Harrison Barnes is set to start at the three and Murray is going to play a substantial role at the four, whether he starts or comes in early. At the five, the Kings have Sabonis and Holmes, who will need to play together for at least a few minutes a game.

Where does Terence Davis fit into this equation? Can Bazemore steal some minutes at the three or maybe Moneke as an energy combo forward? Will Lyles or Metu get a look at the four with Murray? Is Alex Len just a break in case of an emergency 7-footer on the bench?

Outside of Fox, Sabonis and maybe Barnes, everyone on the roster has something to play for, whether it’s playing time, a place in the rotation or a spot on the roster. That should make camp interesting.