Don't Look Now But The Sacramento Kings May Have Actually Selected The Best Player In This Year's Draft In Keegan Murray

Noah Graham. Getty Images.

If you remember, a few weeks ago at the NBA Draft the Kings gave us our first bit of chaos when they went ahead and selected Keegan Murray with the 4th overall pick. For weeks we heard how that spot was going to be Jaden Ivy, and the instant reaction on that night was about what you could expect. Kings fans freaked out, the rest of us made "Kings doing Kings" jokes, and we all went on with our lives.

Well, maybe the joke is on us and the Kings were right the whole time.

I know it's easy to pick on the Kings because over the years their front office and ownership have been a bit of a disaster, but this new era under Monte McNair seems to be different. Sure it was a shock when they traded Tyrese Haliburton, but he does appear to have much more of a sense of what he's doing compared to Vlade Divac. He took over in September 2020 and for my money has shown the ability to really draft well. It's not like the Kings are going to be a top FA destination anytime soon, so hitting on draft picks is insanely important. So far he's drafted Haliburton, Davion Mitchell, and now Keegan Murray. Those are three draft hits (I think Mitchell has a good Year 2 and is already an elite on ball defender). When it comes to Keegan Murray, I don't think it would be crazy to suggest that of all the top 5 picks, he looks to be the most NBA ready right this second. It wasn't just his game last night, look at how he's done this entire summer

So far in Vegas, we're seeing Murray put up 24/6.3/2.3/1.7 on 47/37% splits with 3.3 3PM a night. That three point shooting is legit too because it's coming on a pretty high volume (9.0 3PA). We saw him outplay Paolo, we just saw him outplay Chet last night, and I would imagine that any Kings fan that was maybe upset on Draft night is singing a different tune today. That's why you have to be careful with instant reactions on Draft night. It's much safer to hold off and instead massively overreact to all the good things that player might do in Summer League.

I know many might overlook the Kings because they haven't made the playoffs in like 20 years or whatever, but can we just take a minute to look at this roster right now?

There is a lot of legit talent in that group. I thought outside of the Draft they've had a pretty solid summer in terms of the additions of Huerter/Monk to help bring in more shooting. Would it be so crazy if they competed for a play-in spot this upcoming season? You have to assume that teams like the Jazz and Spurs are about to tank their way out of the top 10 seeds with LAL/POR/SAC looking to break in. Do you feel confident that the Lakers are going to stay healthy all year? Are we sure even with everything the Blazers did this offseason that they are so much better than the Kings right now? I suppose a lot of that will depend on the health of Dame. The point is, for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2005-06, this looks to be one of the more talented rosters the Kings have had in years, at least on paper. 

If the Kings are going to make that jump, it's pretty obvious where the leap needs to come from, and that's on the defensive end. Last year they finished as the 27th best defense in the NBA and had a -5.3 net rating. Offensive talent doesn't mean dick if you can't get stops on the other end. Over their last 25 games or so after the deadline, they ranked 21st, so while that's progress it's still not exactly great. If they can find a way to get up to the 16-20 range defensively, which basically would have put them last year in the group of SA/OKC/NO/ORL/BKN so not that crazy of an ask, I think with their offensive additions this summer you could absolutely see them compete for a top 10 seed and who knows, maybe finally end that playoff drought. 

When they traded Haliburton for Sabonis, that was clearly a win now type move. I'll be interested to see what they do over the course of the year since they have contracts to move like Harrison Barnes if the right deal presents itself, so there are legit reasons to be excited as a Kings fan right now. 

Seeing that they may have actually made the right Draft choice in Keegan Murray is just the cherry on top. He's already saying everything you want to hear as a Kings fan

and who knows, maybe there are brighter days ahead for a franchise and a fanbase that certainly deserves it.