Sacramento

Kings

Not selected in the 2024 NBA Draft, Crawford earned Conference USA Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors last season. In 32 games, he averaged 16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 1.3 3-pointers in 32.9 minutes. Crawford is an athletic forward who was an absolute menace defensively at Louisiana Tech, and offensively, he offers some upside as a perimeter shooter. Sacramento needed to get more athletic on the wings, and Crawford is a quality player to have on a two-way deal.

McDaniels logged just 10.8 minutes across 50 games for Toronto last season, but there’s a chance he will see an uptick in playing time for his new team as Keegan Murray’s primary backup at PF.

After spending his freshman season at South Carolina, Carter flourished after transferring to Providence. His second and final season with the Friars was his best, with Carter winning Big East Player of the Year. The son of former NBA guard Anthony Carter, Devin averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, and 2.5 3-pointers, shooting 47.3% from the field and 74.9% from the foul line. He was measured at 6-foot-2 1/4 at the NBA Draft Combine, but Carter is one of the most athletic players in this draft class. He projects to play the point at the next level, and the improvement throughout his collegiate career bodes well for Carter’s NBA future. In Sacramento, Carter’s unlikely to be a starter due to the presence of De’Aaron Fox. However, Davion Mitchell’s struggles to make the backup point guard job his own may open the door for the former Providence standout to crack the rotation immediately.

One of the NBA’s best sixth-men during his two seasons with the Kings, Monk has reportedly decided to remain in Sacramento and not test free agency. Despite suffering a sprained right MCL in late March, Monk still finished second in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting after averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 2.1 3-pointers in 26.0 minutes per game. Making 70 appearances, Monk was an 11th-round player in 8-cat formats. Depending on what the Kings do with starters Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes, who have been the subject of trade rumors, Monk could be even more valuable to fantasy managers in 2024-25.

Vezenkov is under contract for this upcoming season, so he can’t simply “not return”. However, there is plenty of time for them to trade him or buy out his contract. Stefanou’s report also indicates that Vezenkov hasn’t decided if he will continue to play in the NBA or return to Europe. Vezenkov averaged 5.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 triple in 11.9 minutes per game across 44 appearances. He may have some upside if he lands with a different team that will grant him a larger role, but this shouldn’t have a direct impact on fantasy hoops at this point.

While Sacramento did not reach the playoffs this season, losing to New Orleans in the Play-In tournament, Brown’s two seasons with the franchise have been excellent. However, that did not prevent negotiations from hitting a bump in the road, as the two sides broke off talks of an extension earlier this month. Brown and the Kings resumed talks, with the sides reportedly agreeing on a deal that extends his contract through the 2026-27 season. Brown will make $8.5 million in 2024-25, a raise of $4 million, and he will also make $8.5 million in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. The Kings took a step back offensively this season, but they still have two talented weapons in De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

After torching the Warriors on Tuesday, Murray could not rebound from a slow start in Friday’s loss to New Orleans. He began 2-of-7 from the field, and suffering a left hip injury during the second quarter didn’t help. Murray did return and go on to play 38 minutes, but a solid second season in the NBA came to a disappointing end. Beginning the season with a Yahoo ADP of 104.5, the 2022 lottery pick ranked just outside the top 50 in 8- and 9-cat formats. The key for Murray moving forward will be to play with consistent aggression and not go through stretches in which he’s overly deferential to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. At a minimum, he’ll be worth selecting with a top-75 pick in standard league drafts.

Barnes was solid in his final game of the season, duplicating his point total from Tuesday’s win over the Kings. Something evident in the Kings’ six games against the Pelicans (all losses) was a need to get more athletic on the wings. Sacramento should emphasize improving that area of the roster during the offseason, especially in free agency. Barnes has two seasons remaining on his contract, but the positions held by him and Kevin Huerter (when healthy) for most of the 2023-24 campaign are worth keeping an eye on. Entering the season with a Yahoo ADP of 143.4, Barnes finished ranked outside the top 150 in 8- and 9-cat formats. He should be a late-round pick, at best, next season if his role does not change.

As was the case on many nights, Sabonis recorded a double-double in his final game of the 2023-24 season. He recorded a league-best 77 double-doubles, including 61 straight at one point. Sabonis posted a full stat line on Friday, par for the course for a player who provided top 20 per-game value in 8-cat formats. He finished the season ranked 30th in 9-cat formats, according to Basketball Monster. Sabonis did not make good on his Yahoo ADP (15), but he wasn’t far off, with free-throw percentage (70.4%) and turnovers (3.3 per game) being the issues. He’s unlikely to last past the end of the second round in most drafts next fall.

Fox produced a gaudy point total in his final action of the 2023-24 season, but the Pelicans made him work for his numbers. The Kings point guard was inefficient, shooting 4-of-16 from three while committing five turnovers. While Fox’s scoring (26.6), rebound (4.6), and steal (2.0) averages increased in comparison to last season, his field-goal and free-throw percentages decreased. However, that did not prevent him from providing 2nd-round per-game value in 8- and 9-cat formats, and the same can be said for Fox’s totals value. If he’s to threaten 1st-round value in 2024-25, the percentages need to improve.