The Kings‘ roster may appear imbalanced, but general manager Monte McNair is satisfied with the group that will gather for training camp, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento has eight guards and five centers, but an apparent shortage of depth at the wing. The team will bring 20 players into camp, assuming a reported deal with DJ Steward is finalized by Tuesday.
The most significant offseason addition was Davion Mitchell, who was taken with the ninth pick in the draft. The Kings already have a crowded backcourt, but Mitchell was a Summer League star and could be a difference maker no matter how he is used.
“This is going to be our team going in,” McNair said. “I look at our roster and I see a lot of versatility, guys who can slide up, slide down and really give us different looks. Talking with (coach Luke Walton), I think we’re excited about the possibilities of different lineups, how we can match up in different situations. I think we actually have pretty good roster balance in the sense of, not traditional thinking, but … I think we can put a lot of different lineups out there to match up with whatever we need.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- James Wiseman and Kevon Looney are the only traditional centers on the Warriors‘ roster and the team may not be in the market for another big man, per Ali Thanawalla of NBC Sports By Area. “I think the league has changed quite a bit,” coach Steve Kerr said in a recent appearance on Tim Kawakami’s podcast. “I know if you look at our team historically over the last six, seven years, we’ve always carried a lot of centers. But think about the last part of last season, we played Draymond (Green) at five so much, we even played Juan (Toscano-Anderson) at five. The league seems to be getting smaller and quicker every single year.”
- JaVale McGee is the Suns‘ most important offseason addition, contends Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Rankin notes that Phoenix hasn’t had a rim-protecting center to back up Deandre Ayton since he was a rookie, and suggests that McGee can serve another veteran leader in the locker room.
- The Suns get an A-minus from Zach Harper of The Athletic for their offseason moves. Phoenix kept the core of last season’s Finals team together, re-signing both Chris Paul and Cameron Payne, and added depth with McGee and Landry Shamet.
If GSW can actually pull off swapping out Wiggins for Simmons without moving anyone off the current roster, they are running it back the next 5 years.
Ok Miami Lebron lol. You sure you wanna stop at 5? Not 6? Not 7?
Morty has been saying the same thing each of the last two seasons.
If Klay Thompson was close to being 100% his optimism would be justified, but I doubt that after suffering back-to-back major injuries we’ll be seeing Klay even remotely like his old self upon his return.
I remember when LeBron first joined the Heat some young guy I knew thought that Miami was going to have at least a 3 or 4-peat, convinced they were unbeatable. I told him the Heat might win 1 or 2, which they did. Last I heard, the above mentioned guy was part of one of those religious communes somewhere near Dallas. Figures.
Lebron himself literally went on stage buddy. I don’t care about some young guy you knew or some bet you made.
I think Klay will be fine.. and if he’s not, I think the Warriors will be just fine anyways..
McGee and Shamet were excellent pickups for depth. Especially McGee. Cause they needed another center most. Ayton was wearing out last yr. This keeps him stronger for late in gms. Out of foul trouble. And McGee is a real rim protector. So their D will not suffer at all. Suns will be in West Finals. Personally I’d like to see Denver and Phoenix in West Finals.
Going to be tough for Denver with Jamal Murray out. I wonder when he’s due back? Maybe February or March?
link to twitter.com
They are being quite about it. I think he’s back after all star break. Was injured April 12.
He’ll be back, but they have the depth and the scoring to hang around until he comes back. He’ll be an enormous boost. They have the reigning MVP and a (possibly) future one in MPJ.
Time for MPJ to play quality mins. He’s a big wild card for them. He and Murray playing well. Nuggets are a top team and true contender.
I agree. I can see nuggets in the wcf again but this time not as Cinderellas
Ahh I messed up I’ll own it. You can’t edit on the app haha
Mixed up the nuggets and the blazers
McGee for leadership? That’s a new one. Smart to keep Saric around for a year when he will be out, and Ayton has a contract coming up that will be hard for PHX to swallow. Kaminski, they need to find a greater role for.