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While we all need to hesitate in claiming that the Golden State Warriors are “done,” it at least seems safe to say that their reign of terror is over and that their aura of invincibility has now been cast away.
But the sunset of one great team almost always coincides with the dawn of another, which leads us all to wonder: who is next up in the Western Conference?
The Los Angeles Lakers are the natural answer, seeing as how they just traded for Anthony Davis to put alongside of LeBron James. But with James entering his 17th season and getting set to turn 35 years old, you have to wonder how big the Lakers' window is.
The Los Angeles Clippers also come to mind given they have max cap space and may very well end up with Kawhi Leonard and another star player this summer to go along with what is already an impressive young roster headlined by Montrezl Harrell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Denver Nuggets? Sure, they have a stud in Nikola Jokic, but their lack of defensive versatility and lack of a true second star (I'm not sure Jamal Murray is that guy) has me questioning just how bright their future is at the current point in time.
Of course, we also have the Houston Rockets, who have been second-best to the Warriors for years running.
But what about the Sacramento Kings?
Yes, those Sacramento Kings, the same Sacramento Kings that have not made the playoffs since 2006 and have generally been one of the biggest laughingstocks in the league during that span.
But these are not the same Kings. This Kings team actually has some promise and has shown it.
De'Aaron Fox. Buddy Hield. Marvin Bagley III. Harry Giles. Bogdan Bogdanovic.
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This team is pretty loaded with young talent at basically every position, and this season, Sacramento actually remained in playoff contention for much of the year before finally falling out of it later on.
In a Western Conference that is largely up for grabs, this Kings squad could very well be the next great team.
I won't go as far to say that they remind me of the Warriors in their early stages, but at the very least, they have enough talent to potentially make some serious noise a couple of years from now.
Another really interesting thing about the Kings is that they actually have a ton of cap space this summer. Now, they probably won't be signing any big-name free agents, as Sacramento isn't exactly a desirable landing spot, but they might be able to add a couple of more pieces to go with what is already an impressive stable of young talent.
Both Fox and Hield are Most Improved Player candidates, Bagley showed incredible flashes during his rookie campaign, Giles looks like he could be really good so long as his health cooperates and Bogdanovic is arguably one of the most underrated scorers in the league.
Of course, Sacramento's success will largely depend upon what the rest of the teams in the West do. If the Clippers end up signing Leonard plus another star, the Clips could end ruling the conference for the foreseeable future.
But the good news for the Kings is that unlike a lot of these clubs that are hoping to get to that point, Sacramento already has a lot of its pieces in place.
To be fair, the Kings also need to bank on a couple of their players becoming stars, but based on what we have seen from them thus far, the chances seem pretty significant that there is at least one All-Star in this core.
Let's be clear: other than demonstrating their potential, the Kings have proven nothing yet. I'm not saying Sacramento is a sure thing and that the rest of the West might as well pack it in.
I'm just saying that the Kings do resemble a lot of the top teams we have seen in their humble beginnings over the last decade. Good young talent, versatility and cap flexibility.
The Lakers may have LeBron and AD, but the Kings may have the brighter future.
