30 teams in 30 days: Kings aim to maintain momentum after return to playoffs

With All-Stars Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox leading the way, the Kings ended a 16-season playoff drought in 2022-23.

Key additions

• G Chris Duarte (trade), C Nerlens Noel (free agent)

Key subtraction

Last season

It all came together, finally and gloriously, for a franchise that was stuck in the mud for years. The Kings made the playoffs, words that hadn’t been used in the same sentence for almost two decades, ending a 16-year drought. They also showcased a pair of breakout young talents — De’Aaron Fox, who won the Kia Clutch Player of the Year award, and Domantas Sabonis, who led the league in rebounding. They gave the Kings a pair of All-Star selections for the first time since 2004. Also, Mike Brown won Coach of the Year in his first season with the Kings, while Keegan Murray made All-Rookie First Team. As if that weren’t enough, the Kings hypnotized all of Sacramento by lighting the beam from the rooftop of Golden 1 Center after wins. Clearly and purely, this was the feel-good story of the season, how a once-lost franchise found itself and played good and entertaining basketball. For the first time since cowbells clanged in the C-Webb/Vlade/Peja era, Sacramento was a basketball destination.

Summer summary

When the draft lottery came and went, there was a sense of relief in Sacramento. Not because the Kings botched a draft pick; on the contrary, the Kings didn’t have a pick. Imagine that: For a franchise that took flyers on Jimmer Fredette and Thomas Robinson and Nick Stauskas and the unforgettable Marvin Bagley III, the Kings were refreshingly out of the lottery picture.

That’s what success and a playoff spot does for you, and one reason the Kings avoided the lottery is their draft success of late. Fox was the No. 5 overall pick in 2017 and Murray No. 4 last summer. And the Kings were only able to get Sabonis in a trade with the Pacers because they had Tyrese Haliburton, a No. 12 pick, to swap.

Nothing but @SacramentoKings on NBA TV! ?? pic.twitter.com/zHSB2MFjQe

— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 2, 2023

Therefore, the 2023 Draft was without drama for the Kings. Actually, their first rounder, the 24th overall, was tossed in as a sweetener in a trade package to dump Holmes on the Mavericks. Sacramento tried to trade him last season and found no takers. Holmes had fallen out of favor quickly in Sacramento and was of no use in the new system employed by Brown. As an undersized center, Holmes had no future with the Kings, who for some reason gave him a four-year extension just two years earlier, and replaced him by signing Noel.

The primary goal of the Kings was to keep a good thing going. And that’s why they extended veteran forward Harrison Barnes, giving him three years and $54 million. That might be considered rich for a player whose production is starting to wane a bit, but Barnes is a solid leader, popular in the locker room and considered a safe bet.

The Kings followed up by extending forward Trey…