Kings general manager Monte McNair sits down with Mark Jones for an exclusive interview to discuss Sacramento’s approach to the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.
The NBA trade deadline is soon approaching, and the Kings (18-19) are at a unique point in the 2024-25 season.
As expectations skyrocketed with the addition of six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan and the continued growth of the De'Aaron Fox-Domantas Sabonis duo, the results have fallen short through 37 games this season. While their new Big Three could be a nightmare for opposing defenses, their bench depth has lacked consistent production.
But Mike Brown was dismissed as coach following a 13-18 start to the season. Assistant Doug Christie was named interim head coach for the rest of the season, and Sacramento has gone 5-1 since the change.
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With the team ascending the Western Conference standings, Kings general manager Monte McNair spoke to NBC Sports California's Mark Jones and shared his approach to the looming Feb. 6 trade deadline.
"I think the first thing we're looking at is we made a big change, so what does the team look like? We've seen a little bit of that, but we want to see a little bit more about how this team responds and exactly what we have," McNair told Jones. "We're always looking, that's our job in the front office, we always got to find ways to improve this team especially in the Western Conference where it feels like every year there's 10, 11, 12 teams that you got to compete with.
"Early returns have been good, we want to continue to see that. And then we're about three or four weeks out from that decision point, and we'll see if there's a way to improve the team and keep climbing the standings."
Fox is having a career season, though he has been hampered by a glute injury that will sideline him for the third consecutive game on Friday night. Sabonis is doing Sabonis things. DeRozan has been big for Sacramento as a leader and in the clutch, most recently scoring nine of the Kings' 11 points in double overtime to secure the thrilling victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.
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But it has been players such as Keon Ellis, the Kings' beloved diamond in the rough, who have helped spark this turnaround.
Ellis went undrafted out of Alabama in 2022 and signed a free-agent contract with the Kings. He spent most of his time with Sacramento's G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, before having his two-way contract converted to a standard NBA contract last season.
He played a pivotal role down the stretch of the regular season and into the play-in, most notably for his defense on iconic Golden State Warriors Splash Bros Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
But with injuries and opportunities this season, Ellis now has become more than just an elite defender. His confidence has dramatically lifted on offense, and his presence alone energized his team out of what felt like rock bottom.
Finding a player isn't easy, but it's something McNair and Co. constantly are looking for.
"Shout out to our front office for finding Keon, undrafted initially," McNair told Jones. "Then shout out to our G League program for developing him on a two-way. We're always looking for those two-way players so it's been a big group effort to get to this point, but he's been a huge part of our recent run."
Speaking of two-way players, Keegan Murray has shown promise of filling that label at a high-caliber level.
His offense hasn't matched the shooting numbers of his rookie season two years ago, but his defensive growth is nothing short of impressive.
While all that remains true, it's been largely recognized that the 24-year-old forward who's been asked to do so much on a nightly basis can't do it alone. The Kings have long been in need of wing depth but have yet to fill that void, something McNair addressed to Jones.
"Yeah, I think some of that we've seen Keon take some tougher assignments, so when he's out there he can do it," McNair said. "At the same time, we're continuing to look for two-way guys because what we don't want to do is just solve one issue and open up another. So we want guys like Keegan, like Keon, like a lot of the other guys on our roster that can produce on the offensive end and then go and guard these tough guys on the defensive end. So we'll continue to look for those guys. We'll continue to challenge the guys that we have here to take on those responsibilities.
"And I think, certainly of late, we're top five in defense over the last 10 days or so, and 15th or 16th on the season. Our goal is to be top half of the league and we're right there. But we got to continue to produce at a high level as we get to some of these teams, especially some that we'll see on this road trip."
The short road trip consists of visits to the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics (27-10), Chicago Bulls (17-20) and Milwaukee Bucks (19-16).
Sacramento is one game under .500. The Kings haven't reached the .500 mark since Dec. 15 when they were 13-13, and haven't risen above it since Nov. 21 when they were 8-7.
McNair views the three-game stretch as a "good test" for the team and Christie.
As far as maneuvering through and around the NBA's second apron in the new CBA, McNair believes the Kings -- and teams around the league -- will find ways to do what they need to do.
"I think teams are looking to improve, and there's a lot of creative folks out there," McNair said. "We have quite a few in our front office. So it certainly puts some constraints on how you can maneuver, but I think we are well positioned with our current position and I think other teams continue to be creative to find ways that they can do it.
"You can't stand still in this league for too long and you got to continue to find ways to make your team better."
In a tense, potentially franchise-altering time for the Kings and their plan around the future of Fox, the ultimate goal for all involved, even during an adjustment period, has not changed: Win.
"I would say our goals haven't changed," McNair said. "We want to get to the playoffs. We want to continue to make noise there. I think what we've done is we've put ourselves in a bit of a hole. We've started to climb out of it but there's more work to be done. We're really right now on the fringes of the play-in, that's certainly one way into the playoffs, we've seen teams take that path away and make some noise in the playoffs, so if that's the pathway we have to go through, we'll do that.
"But ideally, we'll find a way to get into the top six and get a little rest going into the playoffs. But that's what our goal continues to be, both this year and going forward."
