105-98 was the score when the final buzzer sounded. Just 8 points separated the Sacramento Kings from a Playoff berth, just 8 points away from an entirely different narrative, just 8 points that could decide the future of Sacramento’s crown jewel.

Three nights prior to their matchup with the Kings, the New Orleans Pelicans suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers at home, losing not just their chance at the seventh seed but also their best player in the process: Zion Williamson. 

Out west, the Kings had just effortlessly mopped their home floor with the sweat of a fading Golden State Warriors dynasty.

They looked unstoppable. The Pelicans looked defeated. 

The Kings had every reason to believe they would steal the last Playoff seed in the Western Conference from the higher-seeded Pelicans in their win-or-go-home Play-in finale. But alas, that’s not who the Kings were this year.

Nine purple jerseys trudged out of Smoothie King Center after a second consecutive premature end to a promising year. When their season was on the line, the Kings were crushed by the pressure to excel when the lights were brightest. The National Basketball Association (NBA) demands consistency in order to win, but the Kings have been stuck bobbing up and down between greatness and mediocrity, just trying to keep their heads above water. 

A long and complicated offseason began that night, holding more weight for this franchise than any other summer has had in years. Things are going to have to change.

First off, though, one of the only bright spots from the Kings’ hobble across the finish line: Keon Ellis emerged into a starting role late in the season after guards Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter fell to injury, filling a hole in the Kings’ scheme that neither of them could.

Unlike Monk and Huerter, when Ellis’ shot doesn’t fall, he is still worth keeping on the floor. He’s a bulldog defender on the perimeter, forcing opposing teams into tough jumpers and taking some of the burden off of Domantas Sabonis’ shoulders. For most of the season, teams blew past the Kings’ weak perimeter defenders, funneling them into the lane and leaving Sabonis as the buffer stop for a runaway train. Ellis changed that. He played well within the offense, he’s a capable shooter, he’s motivated, he’s young, and he’s cheap. He will be back next season, and likely for many to come.

For Huerter and Monk, however, a changing of the guards is in order.

Kevin Huerter is a shooter. At least, he can be. This year, his three didn’t fall, converting them at the lowest rate of his career. His average defense, lack of playmaking, and his smallest scoring output since his rookie year culminated in career-low minutes averages for Huerter, seeing the floor about as often as Trey Lyles this season.

He’s guaranteed $34.8 million over the next two years, a significant price for a shooting guard who didn’t make his shots this year. Hopefully he bounces back next year, but if the injury he suffered in March hurts his production even further, it will be hard to justify paying him that money.

The King’s contract questions don’t end there, though.

Malik Monk’s future with the franchise also lies in jeopardy. Due to contractual restrictions, the Kings can only pay Monk $17.4 million this offseason, well below what others will likely offer.

He can score 26 points one night and 6 the next, embodying the Kings’ lack of consistent play this year. Despite struggling to impact the offense on a poor shooting night, his scoring outbursts are still valuable and earned him runner-up in the 6th Man of the Year vote.

The Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and Orlando Magic have plenty of cap space this offseason and can outbid the Kings during free agency for the rights to Monk. While he’s expressed his desire to stay in a purple jersey, this is Monk’s first opportunity to land a nine figure contract, something NBA players rarely resist.

Huerter’s and Monk’s spots on the Kings look shaky going into next year – Huerter likely reduced to a less prominent role, and Monk a casualty of the cap. 

Deeper concerns lie beneath the seams of the Kings’ roster, though. 

In an anonymous poll conducted by The Plank earlier this year, 80.4% of Jesuit students said the Kings should continue to build around their two stars, Sabonis and Fox. 

This marks the second straight year where the Kings have come up short of what fans expected, however. The two work well together, but the Kings might want to go further than this duo’s ceiling. 

That being said, playoff contention is not a bad place for the Kings to be. 

After a 16 year postseason drought, Kings’ Owner Vivek Ranadive may be content with regaining national relevance. But since 2013, the year Ranadive took ownership over the team, he hasn’t shied away from change, letting go of six head coaches until hiring Mike Brown in 2022. He doesn’t hesitate to retool if the Kings don’t win, and so far, it seems like the Fox-Sabonis pairing doesn’t have much more to give. 

They are incredible talents, but the two alone can’t seem to bring a title, or even a strong playoff run to Sacramento. The Kings’ first step this offseason has to be finding complementary pieces next to their foundational duo of Fox and Sabonis.

Fox needs scoring help. The Kings can’t rely on him to carry the offensive load every night, but he still needs his shots and touches. Fox averages the third and ninth highest rates in those categories this year respectively, so finding a potent offensive weapon that fits next to him (who doesn’t need the ball to be effective) is tricky. Options around the league are far and few between, but a co-star does not necessarily need to be acquired by trade. In fact, the Kings likely already have him: Keegan Murray.

Murray has been outstanding in an off-ball shooting role, scoring a point for almost every touch he gets on the elbows. He has been played mostly at power forward because of his size, but what can be a limiting role for many has actually turned into a positive for the 23-year-old. He’s become one of the Kings’ best defenders, providing two-way play that could make him Fox’s wingman of the future.

Huerter, then, becomes redundant. Sabonis is in need of help on the interior, so if they decide to make a splash this summer, it will most likely be involving Huerter in a swap for another big.

Packaged with other assets, Huerter can land them a valuable big in return like the Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis or the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner. Both provide rim protection, something the Kings tried to bring in last offseason when they signed Javale McGee on a minimum contract. McGee was quickly relegated to the end of the bench next to the health staff, but the intent was clear and looked promising during the early days of the season.

Portis and Turner also do something that neither Sabonis nor McGee can: stretch the floor. Their floor-spacing opens up the rest of the offense and creates easier looks everywhere else on the floor.

Whatever the Kings’ do this offseason, it needs to be big. They can’t bring in guys on the minimum again and expect to contend. Continuity hasn’t been enough, so if they are to escape the island of “not good enough to contend, not bad enough to rebuild” that has trapped so many teams in roster-construction-purgatory before, they need to be bold.

This season is water under the Tower Bridge – it’s what the Kings do next that really matters.