After a quiet start to free agency, the Kings went on a mini shopping spree during the Thanksgiving holiday. They added Hassan Whiteside, Chimezie Metu, Frank Kaminsky, Glen Robinson III, and their own free agent in DaQuan Jeffries, over the last few days as they prepare for training camp.
While new general manager Monte McNair landed a solid collection of budget buys, none were big enough additions to overshadow the loss of starting shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
During his first opportunity to speak with the media since passing on Bogdanovic’s four-year, $72 million offer sheet with the Atlanta Hawks, McNair said the decision was difficult and he took time mulling over all of the options in front of him.
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“We had a couple of days to make our decision and we really spent a lot of time analyzing it from all angles,” McNair said in his first media session since the NBA draft. “Bogdan’s obviously a very good player in this league and was a big part of the success the Kings had, especially towards the end of last season.”
In the end, adding another $18 million per year salary to the budget seemed to be the single most important factor. With the team winning just 31 games last season and already having big money contracts on Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes, as well as next season’s extension for De’Aaron Fox in place, the team chose future flexibility.
“Ultimately, we came back to the fact that we’re trying to maintain as much flexibility as we can and we thought that going forward, the ability to maintain that would allow us to add talent and capitalize as big opportunities came up down the road,” McNair said. “Ultimately, we decided not to match.”
From a talent perspective, the Kings have taken a step back with Bogdanovic’s departure. There is hope that rookie Tyrese Haliburton will help offset some of the loss, but Bogdanovic’s versatility and overall experience and understanding of the game will be missed.
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McNair admitted that part of the reason for not matching the offer sheet had to do with Fox, Hield and Haliburton. With those three in tow, as well as veteran Cory Joseph, the Kings don’t have a lot of extra minutes to spare at either guard position.
Instead of using Bogdanovic at the small forward spot, the team instead chose to bolster their power forward and center position with big bodies so Harrison Barnes can primarily stay at the three. They added short-term depth in Robinson III, and they have a stack of young players that might be able to help out at the position as well.
Between their free-agent haul and veterans like Joseph, Nemanja Bjelica, Jabari Parker and Richaun Holmes, the Kings now have more than half of their roster on expiring contracts. That might come into play as they navigate the 72-game schedule this season.
“One thing that we want to continue to do is add talent, but also maintain as much flexibility as we can,” McNair said. “We were able to do that with how our free agency ended up. We were patient.”
It’s very possible that the Kings take a step backwards this season with Bogdanovic gone, as well as a few other veterans that left via free agency. Coach Luke Walton has plenty of bodies to throw out on the floor, but he should be prepared for his front office to make changes to the roster at any given moment.