Sacramento Kings preview: Predictions and analysis for the 2022-23 NBA season

Last season: 30-52, 25th in offense, 27th in defense Key additions: Head coach Mike Brown, SG Kevin Huerter, SG, Malik Monk, SF Kent Bazemore, PF Chima Moneke Key subtractions: SG Donte DiVincenzo, SF Justin Holiday, SG Jeremy Lamb, SF Josh Jackson, PF Moe Harkless, C Damian Jones Draft picks: SF/PF Keegan Murray For most fans of most teams, the current state of the Sacramento Kings would not be something to get particularly excited about. The Kings are so focused on ending the 16-year playoff drought that they’re making short-term-focused moves for a brief sip from the chalice of eighth-seed glory — most notably by trading Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis at the 2022 trade deadline. I’ve long believed Mike Brown deserved another chance on an NBA bench, and while the reasons for his hiring after a half-decade as a Golden State assistant might not be ideal, this was about as well as the Kings could reasonably hope to do in their coaching search. Prediction: 37-45, 10th place in West Kings by BORG and BORD$ • BORG — Projected value over replacement, per 100 possessions, according to Hollinger’s BORG formula • BORD$ — Projected value for 2022-23 according to Hollinger’s BORD$ formula • — Rookie, no projection available • — Player on two-way contract Potential Closing 5 Player Pos BORG BORD$ De’Aaron Fox PG 2.81 $28,119,278 Kevin Huerter SG 2.10 $19,119,844 Keegan Murray SF -- -- Harrison Barnes PF 1.46 $14,597,259 Domantas Sabonis C 2.94 $27,521,252 Likely rest of roster Player Pos BORG BORD$ Malik Monk SG 2.15 $17,666,219 Richaun Holmes C 1.93 $14,526,901 Terence Davis SG 0.84 $6,057,247 Trey Lyles PF 0.51 $4,722,655 Chimezie Metu PF 0.45 $4,381,978 Kent Bazemore SF 0.03 $2,163,251 Davion Mitchell PG 0.00 Min Alex Len C -0.93 Min Chima Moneke PF -- -- Matthew Dellavedova PF -- -- Keon Ellis SG -- -- Neemias Queta C -- -- Related reading Slater: Mike Brown details his new roster Patterson: For Davion Mitchell, the hard part was trusting himself