It is no secret that the Sacramento Kings have made an effort to emulate the Denver Nuggets. As the Nuggets have managed to do with Nikola Jokic, the Kings are trying to build a championship team around their offensively-gifted, defensively-limited center, Domantas Sabonis.
As motivational speaker Eric Thomas says, “You will never be the best copycat.” As a result, the Kings have been trailing behind the Nuggets in the standings over the last few years.
However, the Kings will have a chance to change that during this upcoming season, as they are no longer following in the Nuggets’ footsteps. Now, they are blazing their own trail.
The Kings Got Better
Sacramento is still building around its own version of Jokic. But it did take steps toward improving their team this offseason, which, as we will soon see, is a stark contrast from what the Nuggets did.
Not only were the Kings able to retain Malik Monk and Alex Len in free agency, but they also added DeMar DeRozan (via sign-and-trade) and Devin Carter and Isaiah Crawford (in the draft). Plus, they still have the internal improvement of Keegan Murray to look forward to and the flexibility to make an additional move if they see fit.
The Kings got better this offseason, which is more than we can say about the Nuggets.
The Nuggets Got Worse
Jokic is the best basketball player in the world. Together, he and Jamal Murray make up the most dangerous duo in the NBA. But what has made the Nuggets so great over the last two years is the power of their championship starting lineup (Murray, Jokic, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon).
Unfortunately for Nuggets’ fans, the team watched Caldwell-Pope – one of the best role players in basketball – walk for nothing in free agency, with no real way of replacing him. On top of that, their bench has virtually no on-ball creation, as Reggie Jackson was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. And to make matters worse, DaRon Holmes II – the team’s promising first round pick – is going to miss the entirety of the 2024-25 season with a torn achilles.
Recent reports have also suggested that the team is open to shopping another member of their once-great five-man lineup, as Yahoo Sports NBA Insider Jake Fischer noted that the team was willing to trade Porter Jr. to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal for Paul George.
Unless Julian Strawther, Christian Braun, and Peyton Watson step up in a big way next season, the Nuggets are going to be a worse team in 2024-25 than they were in 2023-24. And considering the Kings’ improvements, they have a real chance of leapfrogging their big brother in the standings.
