Kings projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
Sacramento Kings starting power forward: Keegan Murray
Drafting Keegan Murray was another important transaction they made over the offseason. Murray played in 80 games and averaged 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 45/41/77 shooting splits. This allowed him to finish 5th in the Rookie of the Year voting and was selected to All-Rookie First Team.
He had a lot of success as a rookie and going into his sophomore year he’s only going to get better. Murray is a long 6-foot-8, so his ability to shoot over 40 percent from three is huge. It allows him to be the perfect power forward alongside Domantas Sabonis.
Murray did not perform that well in his first playoffs but he still has time to overcome that. If he continues to progress throughout his career he will become more than just a three-point shooter. He will add new aspects to his game and will make the Kings an even bigger threat in the West.
Kings primary backup power forward: Trey Lyles
Last season Trey Lyles played in 74 games for the Kings and came off the bench for all 74 games. Off the bench, Lyles averaged 7.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists on 46/36/82 shooting splits and is also one of the Kings’ better defenders.
Lyles is practically a downgraded version of Keegan Murray. Lyles is another player who is long and his ability to shoot three is crucial for this team. With the Kings’ two best players not being able to shoot, having shooters, especially tall shooters, are very important to have.
Lyles gives the Kings the ability to mix around with the lineup where he can play with Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis, or he can be a small ball center throughout the course of a game. He is an extremely good role player and if Keegan Murray gets hurt, he is the perfect substitute.