How far can the Sacramento Kings go in the 2021-22 NBA season?
The Sacramento Kings have not made the NBA Playoffs in 15 years, and this Kings team is young and talented, but maybe not ready to break this streak.
This offseason, the Kings' most significant moves were to re-sign Richaun Holmes to a four-year contract and draft Davion Mitchell with the ninth overall pick. Mitchell joins a crowded backcourt with De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and the 2020 draft's 12th overall pick Tyrese Haliburton. Head Coach Luke Walton will have trouble finding minutes for these talented guards. That is if they all stay on the team throughout the season.
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Predicting Sacramento Kings' floor for the 2021-22 NBA Season
The floor for the Sacramento Kings would be another season missing the playoffs. This would sadly bring the Kings to 16 consecutive seasons without making the playoffs. The Western Conference might prove to be too harsh for them to handle. With teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves looking to take the next step this season, the Kings might be left out.
However, Kings fans should take heart in the fact that they have the building blocks for improvement. The young guard core of Fox, Haliburton, and Mitchell will be exciting to watch. Head Coach Walton should draw some inspiration from the 2019-2020 Oklahoma City Thunder, who closed games with a three-guard lineup of Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder. Finding a way to get your three best players on the court at one time is a must in the NBA. The Kings just need to figure out how.
That would be on a much lesser scale, but the Kings averaged 113.7 points per game last season, the 11th highest points per game in the NBA. The Kings offense would be fun to watch and play extremely fast-paced. They might be able to sneak up on teams who play down to them due to their record.
Players like Hield and Marvin Bagley could be traded come the trade deadline, as they have already come up in trade rumors. If the season isn’t going exactly the way the Kings want it to go, veterans such as Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless and Tristan Thompson could also be names that come up in trade rumors.
Even though the Kings might end up winning less than 30 games in the 2021-2022 season, it’s all about building around the young core and empowering them. The upside is that a worse record secures better lottery odds to hopefully draft a talented front-court player and pair them with existing back-court talent.
Sacramento Kings Ceiling for the 2021-2022 NBA Season
De’Aaron Fox is the key to how high this Sacramento Kings team can climb. At just 23 years old, he has quickly become one of the rising young stars within the league. If Fox can stay healthy and have a repeat of last season’s 25.2 points per game with 7.2 assists, the Kings could defiantly be fighting for a play-in spot.
Haliburton showed flashes that he could be something special, and if he improves on his All-Rookie season, that would be much-needed support for Fox. On top of that, 2021 NBA Summer League MVP Davion Mitchell could come out and surprise people, possibly joining the rookie-of-the-year conversation.
Nets G Cam Thomas and Kings G Davion Mitchell were named summer league Co-MVPs 👏
Thomas: 27 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 2.0 APG
Mitchell: 10.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 5.8 APG https://t.co/BByaqp9uvX
If this does happen, the Kings could hold off trading away veterans to push for a play-in spot and have a chance at making the playoffs. Hield would play a vital role in the team, as his spacing allows Fox and others to find easy driving lanes.
A lineup of Fox, Mitchell, Haliburton, Hield and Holmes would struggle on defense but would play extremely fast and put up a lot of points. The King’s defense was already one of the worst in the NBA, so playing into the team's strength on offense makes sense.
The Sacramento Kings could still find themselves sitting outside of a play-in spot but will keep it interesting until the end of the season. Getting over 30 wins in a tough Western Conference is nothing to be shy about, and reaching that win total is a possibility. Most importantly, the Kings could show Fox they want to win, which could help them keep their future star invested in the franchise.
The Most Accurate Outcome for the Sacramento Kings 2021-2022 Season
The continuation of the Sacramento Kings playoff drought is more likely than not, but their offense will be fun to watch unless something drastic happens. The 2021-2022 season will be about building the core around Fox and the three young guards.
The writing seems to be on the wall for Hield to move on, and a contending team might offer a trade package too good to say no to. Still hovering around 30 wins would be a successful season for the Kings and should be doable with this roster.
A surprise that could happen is if the Sacramento Kings somehow pull off a trade for Ben Simmons. The trade seems unlikely, and the fit is not perfect, but it would raise the team's floor.