With Playoff Berth In Hand, Kings Must Keep Building

For the first time since 2006, the Sacramento Kings are in the NBA Playoffs. It took the lifespan of what is essentially a high school senior to get there, but finally Mike Brown’s troops have turned the table on tradition.

With Kings fans enjoying the broken pattern, it’s crucial for the franchise to not get too caught up in their own hype, and keep the ship steady. This Kings team simply cannot become a one-time exception to what has been a culture of failure, and must move forward with ambitions of adding to the current core.

For one, the Kings will need to optimize their salary structure. Richaun Holmes, who is rarely used anymore, is on the hook for over $12 million next season, and has a player option for the season after next worth $12.8 million.

With Harrison Barnes in need of a new contract this summer, and with the Kings having a bargain contract via Domantas Sabonis ($19.4 million next season), the 2023 offseason should be one of upgrades.

In the NBA, timing is everything. Welding when the iron is hot is crucial, and with the Kings displaying the league’s most explosive offense, and being a huge positive story, now is the time to cash in on that attention, and get in players who can keep them competitive for years to come.

As such, the Holmes contract is a bit of a problem. He doesn’t have trade value, and no team would be interested in taking on almost $25 million unless they were compensated to do so.

To get off that contract, the Kings would likely need to attach either draft picks or Davion Mitchell, and neither should be in the cards as that would go against the idea of maintaining a winning product.

As such, the idea of waving and stretching Holmes’ contract could be considered, as to maximize financial flexibility. But not until after the Kings have used that contract to their advantage this summer.

The NBA estimates the new cap for the 2023-2024 season will land at around $134 million, and if the Kings could re-sign Barnes to a similar deal as his current compensation level – or roughly $20 million per year – they’d turn his cap hold of $27+ million into his new actual salary.

The Kings won’t have actual salary cap space, or at least not enough to make a big splash. De’Aaron Fox, Sabonis, Barnes, Mitchell, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, and Kevin Huerter will likely combine for over $108 million, and that’s before getting into possible solutions with Holmes, and cap holds for Terence Davis and Trey Lyles.

In fact, it might even behoove the Kings to act as an over-the-cap team as to qualify for the full non-tax MLE, estimated to be worth around $11.5 million per year. Through that specific perspective, the contract of Holmes actually assists them, but it cannot be a contract they stick with long-term if they are to make themselves frequent postseason participants.

So what is the best path forward? One could argue it’s re-signing Barnes and Lyles, finding another piece in free agency, and perhaps play Holmes more minutes during the early stretches of next season, as to make his contract slightly less concerning for other team.

However they slice it, the Kings need to make the most of this coming summer. Sabonis and Monk will both be up for new deals in 2024, and Sabonis in particular is looking at a major raise. After the 2024 sommer, the Kings will likely be close, or over, the tax line and that will be the team they’ll go to war with for the next few years.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.