We’ve already taken a look at the top 5 Wing options for the Kings in Free Agency, now let’s move on to the Bigs. Sacramento is in an interesting situation where they can either bring in a starting 3 or 4, depending on how they view Keegan Murray going forward.
As compared to the wings, not all of the big men options will be starters, which drops their priority down slightly for me. But one of the most consistent problems last season was the backup 5 position and will be vital for Monte and company to shore up that spot going forward. Let’s take a By the Numbers look at my top 5 bigs that the Kings could look to bring in.
5. Christian Wood – 27 Years Old – Unrestricted Free Agent
The Kings superpower last year was their high-powered offense, and the idea of bringing in Wood is to continue to build on that offensive firepower. With a 37.6% 3P%, he has the ability to space the floor and has the potential to thrive in Sacramento’s offense. He hit his Wide-Open 3’s at a 42.4% clip and could get a ton of great looks off of Fox and Sabonis. He doesn’t have the best mid-range game at 36.1%, but finishes well in the restricted area (67.3%) and the floater area (56.3%) to bring the versatility that makes the Kings offense so strong.
The other strong part of his game is rebounding, which the Kings need help with from their bigs. Pulling in 7.3 Rebounds in 25.9 minutes last year, Wood has shown an ability to crash the boards.
The question with him will center around attitude and buy-in, but like all other moves, if Monte and Mike Brown sign off on it, I trust them to have done their research and am fully on board.
4. Naz Reid – 23 Years Old – Unrestricted Free Agent
Reid profiles as a perfect backup center for the Kings. He’s athletic, high-energy, can shoot the 3 (34.6%), and is active on the boards with 4.9 Rebounds in just 18.4 minutes. The only reason he isn’t higher on my list is that I don’t think he would start, and believe that should be the priority going into free agency.
The most impressive part of Reid’s game is his ability to finish at the rim. He shot 76.5% in the restricted area, which was tied for 15th highest in the NBA, minimum 100 attempts. Coincidentally, that is tied with De’Aaron Fox, which again shows how good Fox finished at the rim, but I digress.
At just 23 years old, Reid is the perfect player to snag from another team and add to the core so that everyone can grow together in the coming years.
3. Trey Lyles – 27 Years Old – Unrestricted Free Agent
This one seems like a no-brainer. Trey wants to be back in Sacramento and the Kings have the ability to go over the cap to resign him. Denver just showed that consistency is key to building a championship contender and keeping Lyles on the squad would do just that. But this isn’t just a ‘they all like each other’ situation. Trey also has the skills on the court to be more than worth bringing back.
Every team is constantly looking for two main role player archetypes. 3&D wings, and Stretch Bigs. Lyles fits the Stretch Big role to a tee, as shown by his 36.3% 3P% and 4.1 Rebounds in just 16.9 minutes. With the ability to play both the 4 and fit in as a small ball 5 as needed, Trey brings great versatility that any team should value off the bench.
The main question seems to be centered around Sasha Venzenkov and if the two of them can co-exist, but you can never have too much shooting. There are certainly defensive questions, but since they can both shoot, it feels like it has the chance to work.
2. Grant Williams – 24 Years Old – Restricted Free Agent
Although they made it to the Conference Finals, Boston had what felt like a disappointing season. Many feel like they need to shake things up, but that likely won’t be with their stars of Tatum and Brown. More likely, they will look to shake up their role players, which means Williams could be on the move. As a restricted free agent, he will be harder to get, but his fit by the numbers looks great on the Kings.
With a 39.5% 3P%, he has the ability to open up any offense, and much like the other bigs here, would get great looks off of the other Kings starters. What I like about his shooting from deep is that he hits well from everywhere beyond the arc. He shot 38.0% on his Above the Break 3’s, and a fantastic 42.4% from the corners. A lot of players favor one or the other, but his ability to knock it down from both spots would be a great addition.
There would still be questions with rebounding, as Williams pulled down just 4.6 in 25.9 minutes per game. No matter what, it seems like the Kings are going to need to go with a rebounding-by-committee approach where multiple players crash the glass.
Brook Lopez – 35 Years Old – Unrestricted Free AgentComing in at the top spot, let’s get a little weird. Sacramento’s main problems last season were rim protection and rebounding. Good luck finding a player who fills both of those voids than Brook Lopez. The Defensive Player of the Year runner-up averaged 2.5 Blocks per game last year, tied for 2nd most in the league.
The other attractive part of Lopez’ game is his ability to step out and hit the 3. He shot a career high 37.4% from beyond the arc last season and has seen his 3P% rise each of the last 4 seasons. On 4.7 attempts per game, it wasn’t a small sample size fluke either. Part of what helped so much was that he made his Wide-Open 3’s at a 45.0% clip, tied for 24th out of the 187 players with at least 100 such attempts.
The peripheral stats back up the fit as well. Lopez averaged 2.9 Screen Assists and 6.6 Screen Assist Points created per game, was in the 71.8th percentile for the Cut Playtype, and the 97.5th percentile for the Handoff Playtype. Simply put, he fits the Kings offense perfectly. He could start next to Sabonis and the two of them could stagger their minutes off the court. The only question mark is his age at 35 years old, but seems to be in great shape and just played 78 games last season. It would be a big swing, but one that could catapult the Kings into the next tier next season.