After finally ending the embarrassing record of not making the playoffs for 16 consecutive years in the 2022-23 season, the Kings seem to finally be on the right track and have a chance to become a regular in the playoffs. The current lineup is quite complete, and there is a lot of sand in the frontcourt. Domantas Sabonis, star player De’Aaron Fox in the backcourt, and enough manpower on the wings to provide firepower are indeed very exciting.
Unexpectedly, a year later, the Kings failed to successfully enter the playoffs in the 2023-24 season. Although the team squeezed into the play-off list with 9th place in the Western Conference, it was not able to break through in the play-offs. Indeed, the team The record is 46 wins and 36 losses, and the winning percentage of 0.561 is not bad at all. However, in the Western Conference surrounded by great powers, this result cannot help the team to stably enter the playoffs. Therefore, if the Kings want to stably enter the playoffs in the new season, they still A certain degree of reinforcement is required.
The Kings’ overall offensive and defensive efficiency last year was in the middle of the league. The offense ranked 13th in the league with an “offensive efficiency ORTG” of 116.2, and the “defensive efficiency DRTG” ranked 14th in the league with 114.4. These are not too bad results, but in There is indeed something missing in the Western Conference breakout, especially the wing shooter Kevin Huerter, who the team relied heavily on last season, averaged 5 points less than the previous season, and his three-point shooting percentage dropped by 4%. He had the lowest three-point shooting percentage of his career in a season, which also affected the entire Kings’ offensive space.
If they want to go further, they need a player who can help open up the situation with the ball and connect the whole team when Shabonis is being marked hard by the opponent’s penalty area, or when Fox is flanked. They have not missed the opportunity this off-season. First, there is the draft. Selected defensive-oriented Devin Carter to prepare for the trade of Davion Mitchell, and immediately initiated the transaction to acquire Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov and the 45th overall pick in 2025. Quan was traded to the Raptors for Jalen McDaniels to strengthen his bench strength.
The Kings performed very poorly in this area last year. Except for Malik Monk, all other players contributed very little. Although Keon Ellis was successful at the end of the season, this year he entered the starting rotation. , the defensive and firepower gaps on the bench still need to be filled by someone. If a starting player is injured, McDaniels is also the first choice to fill in the starting lineup.
Of course, in addition to the above Green Leaf puzzle pieces, the most important reinforcement for the Kings during the off-season was the signing of DeMar DeRozan on a three-year, 74 million contract. This move can be regarded as making up for the Kings’ lack of singles scoring points in the lineup. , but it’s not entirely without worries.
The Kings were a team that took a lot of three-pointers last season, ranking third in the league with 39.3 shots per game, and their shooting percentage of 36.6% was still in the middle. This kind of style of play can help Fox create a lot of scoring opportunities by cutting into the penalty area. This allows Shabonis, who is less physically fit, to have a wider space, but DeRozan has never been known for his three-point shooting in his career. The Kings will obviously have a lot of changes in their playing style in the new season to accommodate DeRozan’s arrival. .
