SACRAMENTO -- With a lot of moving pieces entering the 2024-25 NBA season, the Kings got most of the band back together for their season opener Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
In doing so, however, it also presented coach Mike Brown with some difficult decisions that -- big-picture wise -- will take some time to resolve.
Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and Trey Lyles (groin) both were cleared just in time for Thursday's game after missing training camp and five preseason games.
Rising young guard Keon Ellis filled in for Huerter in that starting shooting guard spot from the end of last season through this preseason, but despite Ellis' impactful presence in a small sample size, Huerter reclaimed his role with the first five alongside De'Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.
As expected, while he ramps up his work, Huerter played the fewest number of minutes among the starters with just under 20.
The rest of the group played nearly double that -- or more.
A 35-year-old DeRozan, in Year 16, played more than 42 minutes. Sabonis played 38 and Fox trailed just behind him with 37. Murray, the youngest of the group, played a team-high 43 minutes.
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That's something Brown doesn't want to see happen on a nightly basis.
"You can see, just by the minutes, that I'm still not comfortable with my rotation," Brown said after Sacramento's 117-115 collapse Thursday. "I don't want DeMar to average 43 minutes a game. I don't want Keegan to average 43 minutes a game. And so that's something that I have to continue working on to help them out. I also don't want Domas at 38 and I don't want Fox at 37.
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"So, again, that's something that I have to continue working on with the group to figure out what's going to be good for us rotationally going forward -- and it may take some time."
The first two players who checked in off the bench Thursday were Ellis and, of course, Sacramento's sixth man Malik Monk. Next was Lyles before 7-foot center Alex Len checked in with about a minute remaining in the opening quarter.
Brown went nine-deep for most of the game, before he felt the need to shake things up in the fourth just as the Kings' collapse began. He turned to his bench and chose veteran sharpshooter Doug McDermott, who has been in Sacramento for less than 10 days after signing a one-year contract with the Kings last Wednesday.
Monk played the most minutes off the bench, another non-surprise, with 26. Ellis and Lyles each played about 11, while Len and McDermott played just under six minutes.
Colby Jones, Isaac Jones and Jordan McLaughlin all were DNPs (Did Not Play).
It will take some time for Huerter and Lyles to get back into the flow of things -- and the Kings know that.
But changing the lineup so close to the season opener made adjusting to it more difficult.
"It just takes some time to get used to," Sabonis said postgame. "We haven't been playing with DeMar but we've been playing with Kev and Trey. And then it just changes the lineup. Keon goes back to the second unit. So obviously there's some adjustment there, but we just got to figure it out quicker.
"We all know how to play basketball, so we just got to go out there and do our job."
DeRozan is a six-time NBA All-Star and one of the greatest scorers in the game. He arrived in Sacramento this offseason via a sign-and-trade deal and immediately got to work with some of his new teammates in private workouts before reporting to training camp for his first official practices with his new squad.
He's adjusting to the Kings, and the Kings are adjusting to him. And now, with the inclusion of Huerter and Lyles, he's adjusting -- once again -- to a new lineup and different rotations.
But he's regarded as one of the truest professionals for a reason. He can adapt and adjust in just about any situation. That's what he's done since becoming a King and what he plans to continue to do.
"I think the most difficult part is helping them [Lyles and Huerter] get their rhythm because they haven't been able to do training camp with us," DeRozan said. "They missed preseason, and when you miss a lot of little things like that, it's tougher to get rhythm going for them. So I think that's the tough part. Once their rhythm gets going, it's going be a lot easier on us, though.
"... We were rusty with a lot of things, but the effort was there. We competed, we moved the ball. Once we get that rhythm with one another, I think everything [will] fit in perfectly. Understanding which guys like the ball, get to their spots, everything. But for the most part, I'm happy with how aggressive we were, how we competed. It just sucks we didn't get the victory."
It's Game 1, but if there's a lesson the Kings learned from last season it's that every contest is important. Brown will continue to experiment with different lineups and rotations, but he'll have to find the ones that work -- and find them soon.
