No one, outside of perhaps the most loyal fans, expected the Sacramento Kings to put up as great of a campaign as they did during the 2022-23 regular season. But in the end, the Kings shattered all expectations, winning 48 games en route to becoming the third seed in the Western Conference. Alas, the Kings ran into the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the first round, whose championship mettle simply proved to be too much to deal with for an inexperienced squad.

Thus, for the first offseason in 17 years, the Kings will be looking to build upon the promising season that came before. With two All-NBA talents already on the roster in De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, two sharpshooters in Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk ready to scorch the nets once more, and a promising 3-and-D youngster in Keegan Murray perhaps ready to take the leap, the Kings front office need not complicate things, especially in free agency.

Even then, the Kings roster, as presently constructed, doesn't appear to be good enough to win a championship. The front office knows the team is better off with a few reinforcements; the Kings can certainly use a lockdown defender on the perimeter and a more defensively resolute small-ball five.

At the end of the day, however, the Kings, which will have to re-sign Harrison Barnes this offseason, have no need to shake things up too much. The last thing they need is someone who can disrupt the team's chemistry and someone who doesn't score efficiently (the Kings' offense ranked first for a reason).

Therefore, these are the two players the Kings might be better off avoiding when NBA free agency kicks off in July.

Dillon Brooks

One of the foremost struggles the Kings had against the Warriors during the playoffs was guarding the perimeter. Stephen Curry, especially, had his way, scoring 50 points during what ended up being a dominant Game 7 victory for the Dubs. Thus, a perimeter defender of Dillon Brooks' caliber will be such a godsend to a Kings team that doesn't exactly have the most imposing defensive personnel on the wings.

Try as they might, Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray aren't at the defensive level the Kings require to take the next step. Murray could very well blossom into a plus defender, but he's only 22 years old, so putting the onus on him to emerge as a stifling defender may be too heavy a burden. Brooks will help the Kings' point of attack defense immensely, which should help prop up the Kings' 24th ranked defense this past regular season.

Following Dillon Brooks' unceremonious exit from the Memphis Grizzlies, he might also be available for a discount price in free agency.

But is signing Brooks worth all the headache that comes with doing so?

For starters, Dillon Brooks provides the opposition with unnecessary bulletin board material. He runs his mouth incessantly, poking the bear at every opportunity. While that could give his teams an edge, it can also backfire, which Brooks has even admitted to be the case in the past.

But the most headache-inducing part of Brooks' game is his shot-selection. Brooks certainly thinks more highly of himself as a scorer than he actually is; one of the reported foremost points of contention Brooks had with the Grizzlies organization leading to his exit was his lack of offensive involvement.

How is that the case? Brooks averaged more shots than Jaren Jackson Jr., and yet he ranks among the worst in True Shooting percentage. He loves his contested pull-ups, and yet he's nailing them at such an abysmal rate.

Perhaps with the Kings' whirring offensive system, Brooks embraces his slashing game more often. Any improvement in shooting efficiency should only serve to accentuate Brooks' defensive impact. But the 27-year old wing may simply be too stubborn to do so, so signing him could end up being detrimental to the Kings instead.

Caris LeVert

Caris LeVert is a quality player, make no mistake about it. LeVert is a solid secondary scorer on the wing, and he can prop up offenses when the team's stars are resting. Alas, the Cleveland Cavaliers' acquisition of Donovan Mitchell has rendered LeVert's game superfluous; at the 3, LeVert's skillset isn't exactly what the Cavs need.

And the same goes for the Kings.  The Kings already have Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter to soak up the offensive load when De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are resting.

The Kings' best lineups in the playoffs had Monk at the 2 alongside Fox, with the likes of Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, and Huerter taking turns at the 3 and the 4 depending on the hot hand with Sabonis at the 5. Adding LeVert won't exactly move the needle for the Kings, so they're certainly better off focusing on adding other players whose skillsets fit more comfortably alongside their established core.