Why Brown is ‘uncomfortable’ with Kings rotations after loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – With plenty of moving pieces heading into the 2024-2025 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 tough decisions that – in the big picture – will take some time to resolve.

Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and Trey Lyles (groin) were both 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 the starting shooting guard spot from the end of last season through this preseason, but despite Ellis’ impactful presence in a narrow margin, Huerter reclaimed his role in the starting five alongside De “Aaron Fox. DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.

As expected, as he stepped up his work, Huerter played the fewest minutes among starters with just under 20.

The rest of the group played almost double that amount – or more.

A 35-year-old DeRozan played more than 42 minutes in year 16. Sabonis played 38 and Fox was just behind him with 37. Murray, the youngest of the group, played a team-high 43 minutes.

That’s something Brown doesn’t want to see happen every night.

“You can tell from the minutes that I’m still not comfortable with my rotation,” Brown said Thursday after Sacramento’s 117-115 collapse. “I don’t want Demar to average 43 minutes per game. I don’t want Keegan to average 43 minutes per game. And so that’s something I have to keep working on to help them. I don’t want that either. Domas at 38 and I don’t want Fox at 37.

“So again, that’s something I have to continue to work on with the group to figure out what will be good for us in the future – and it may take some time.”

The first two players to check in off the bench on Thursday were Ellis and, of course, Sacramento’s sixth man Malik Monk. Next up was Lyles before Alex Len checked in from 2 yards out with about a minute left in the opening quarter.

Brown went nine-deep for most of the game before feeling the need to shake things up in the fourth, just as the Kings’ collapse began. He turned to his bench and opted for veteran sharpshooter Doug McDermott, who had been in Sacramento less than 10 days after signing a one-year deal with the Kings last Wednesday.

Monk played the most minutes off the bench, again no surprise, with 26. Ellis and Lyles each played about 11 minutes, while Len and McDermott played just under six minutes.

Colby Jones, Isaac Jones and Jordan McLaughlin were all DNPs (Did Not Play).

It will take some time for Huerter and Lyles to get back into the swing of things, and the Kings know that.

But changing the lineup so close to the season opener made it a little harder to adjust to.

“It just takes some time to get used to it,” Sabonis said after the game. “We haven’t played with DeMar, but we’ve played with Kev and Trey. And then it just changes the lineup. Keon goes back to the second unit. So obviously there’s some adjustment, but we just have to figure it out quicker.

“We all know how to play basketball, so we just have to go out there and do our job.”

DeRozan is a six-time NBA All-Star and one of the best 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 workouts with his new squad.

He conforms to the kings, and the kings conform to him. And now, with the addition of Huerter and Lyles, he’s adjusting – again – to a new lineup and different rotations.

But it is not without reason that he is considered one of the best professionals. He can adapt and adapt in almost any situation. That is what he has done since he became king and what he plans to continue doing in the future.

“I think the hardest part is helping them (Lyles and Huerter) find their rhythm because they couldn’t go to training camp with us,” DeRozan said. “They missed preseason, and when you miss a lot of little things like that, it’s harder to get the rhythm going for them. So I think that’s the hard part. Once they get their rhythm going, it will be a lot easier for us.” .

“…We were stuck on a lot of things, but the effort was there. We battled, we moved the ball. Once we get that rhythm together, I think everything (will) fit perfectly. Understanding which guys like finding the ball, getting to their spots, everything. But for the most part, I’m happy with how aggressive we were, how we competed. It’s just a shame that we didn’t get the win.

It’s Game 1, but if there’s one lesson the Kings learned from last season, it’s that every game is important. Brown will continue to experiment with different lineups and rotations, but he will have to find the ones that work – and find them quickly.

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