The Sacramento Kings made one of the final major free agency moves before the start of the season with the signing of veteran guard Russell Westbrook. The Kings’ Westbrook signing was met with mixed reactions from across the NBA world, and media member Zach Lowe from The Ringer likened the Kings roster to the famed Hindenburg explosion when a German airship crashed over New Jersey in 1937.
“I hate this team. I hate this roster. I hate that Keegan Murray is already injured. I hate the vibes. I hate everything. I think this is going to be a year from Hell for the Kings,” Zach Lowe said. “This is the Hinderburg of NBA teams this year.”
Even before the Russell Westbrook signing, the Kings seemed to be a team that was locked into play-in contention. A team that isn’t good enough to contend in the playoffs, but not bad enough to get a high enough draft pick to jump start a rebuild.
Prior to the Westbrook addition, the Kings’ major offseason moves were signing Dennis Schroder, trading for Dario Saric and re-signing Doug McDermott. Their draft acquisitions were Nique Clifford with the No. 24 overall pick and Maxime Raynaud with the No. 42 overall pick.
This past season, the Kings missed the playoffs after losing in the play-in to the Dallas Mavericks. Just a couple of months into the regular season, the Kings fired head coach Mike Brown and named Doug Christie as interim. Following the end of the season, the Kings named Christie head coach with a multi-year contract.
The Kings also shook up their roster last season at the trade deadline. They traded away De’Aaron Fox in a three-team trade that reunited Zach LaVine with his old Chicago Bulls teammate DeMar DeRozan.
Following the Kings’ latest roster move, one of the key questions coming out of training camp and preseason is who will be the starting point guard between Westbrook and Schroder.
