With the 2024 NBA Draft now in the rearview mirror, the Kings and general manager Monte McNair have only a few days to catch their breath before free agency begins.
It’s already been a busy and hectic offseason for the franchise.
A quick recap:
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Sacramento signed coach Mike Brown to a three-year contract extension in late May, which was job No. 1. The Kings have also reportedly agreed to terms on a very lucrative deal to keep Sixth Man of the Year contender Malik Monk.
With the No. 13 pick in the draft, they acquired a top-flight talent in Devin Carter, a two-way player whose defensive skillset should fit well in Brown’s system.
Then early Thursday, the Kings shook up the NBA world by trading away two of their potential foundational pieces (Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov) and their second-round pick to Toronto in exchange for Jalen McDaniels.
While there are a lot of working parts in the deal, the bottom line was that the trade eased some of the logjam of guards that the Kings have on their roster while also, maybe more importantly, freed up some money under the salary cap which should give Sacramento some flexibility to keep adding through free agency.
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“Our goal is to come out with the best chance to get our goal,” McNair told reporters Wednesday night following the first round of the draft. “The good thing about Sacramento is right now, playoffs is the goal and anything less than that is not acceptable. That’s where we’re headed.”
Keeping Brown was definitely the most important – and easiest – move that the Kings had to make this offseason.
Since taking over for interim coach Alvin Gentry following the 2022 season, Brown has helped elevate Sacramento into a perennial contender. In his first season at the helm, the Kings ended the NBA’s longest playoff drought in history. Last year, the Kings were on the verge of making it to the playoffs again and beat the Golden State Warriors in a play-in game before losing to the New Orleans Pelicans.
“Just an amazing coach,” McNair said. “We’ve seen what he’s done here the last two years, two of the best years in Sacramento in a long time. Mike does a great job of getting on guys and then putting his arm around them. Just the stability he brings. Such a great leader. Great face of the organization.”
The Kings have won 94 games in Brown’s two seasons. His .573 winning percentage is the fourth-best in franchise history and the highest since Rick Adelman had a .633 mark from 1998-2006.
“He’s just a great partner,” McNair said of Brown. “We think he’s the guy to lead us where we want to go.”
Retaining Monk is equally key to the Kings’ plans, although nothing official can be announced until free agency starts.
In two seasons in the state capitol, Monk endeared himself to Kings fans with his frenetic and energetic style. He was the team’s third-leading scorer (trailing only De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis) during the 2023-24 season despite coming off the bench in all 72 games he played in. Monk averaged career-highs in points (15.4) and assists (5.1).
“Malik’s somebody who’s been a huge part of our success the last two years,” McNair said. “We all love Malik.”