Kings general manager Monte McNair held a news conference at team headquarters Friday to talk about the club’s direction following the NBA trade deadline. The Kings didn’t make any meaningful moves ahead of Thursday’s deadline, but there was still plenty to discuss. McNair, the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, spoke for about 25 minutes. He thanked assistant general manager Wes Wilcox, vice president of player personnel Phil Jabour, vice president of player development Paul Johnson and the team’s scouting and analytics departments for months of work leading up to the deadline. “We’re always active in trying to see what’s out there, but weighing that against what we already have here,” McNair said. “Obviously this year after exploring those opportunities, we ended up keeping this group together. We know the job is never done. We’ll continue to vet those opportunities to make our team better, but we’re excited for what we’ve got going forward.” The Kings (29-21) were sixth in the Western Conference following Friday’s 135-106 victory over the Denver Nuggets. They are trying to build on last season’s success after going to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the No. 3 seed in the West. Sacramento reportedly had interest in the likes of Kyle Kuzma and Jerami Grant, but those deals never materialized. The Kings made one move to acquire aging center Robin Lopez and cash considerations from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis, but they waived Lopez the same day.
So, after months of speculation, Sacramento chose to keep its roster intact as the All-Star break nears and the stretch run begins. If the Kings are going to repeat last year’s run to the playoffs, they will do so with franchise cornerstones De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis and a supporting cast featuring Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes and Malik Monk, some of whom were the subject of trade rumors. “I believe in this group and I was a proponent of bringing the group back,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “We had a good first year, but we need to take steps and we need to see if this group and this nucleus can take steps, and I think we have. … So, I really believe in this group. I really fee like they believe in each other, so now it’s time to go get it.” McNair said the advent of the play-in tournament has changed market dynamics around the trade deadline. There are more buyers and fewer sellers as more teams try to stay in the running for a playoff berth.
