The Sacramento Kings had a disappointing finish last season, ending as the 9th seed in the West and narrowly missing the playoffs. Despite the heartbreaking conclusion to what had seemed like a promising year, Kings’ All-Star center Domantas Sabonis is excited about what lies ahead for the team and the league from Sacramento.
Advertisement
While hosting his first Youth Camp in the city, Sabonis spoke to Fox40 News. Apart from expressing his surprise over his teammate, Malik Monk returning to the franchise this offseason, the 28-year-old is equally excited to share the court with DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan decided to leave the Chicago Bulls and sign a contract with the Kings, joining forces with Sabonis and their star point guard, De’Aaron Fox. When asked how he felt about DeMar joining the squad, this is what Domantas had to say.
“Excited at that point. Nothing was falling through so was getting a bit frustrated. And happy he’s here.”
The son of the legendary center Arvydas Sabonis, broke down how DeRozan’s addition will affect the team’s offense going forward.
“I think it’s going to make us think differently on the court, move differently… We’re used to playing one style but does something on a Hall of Fame level that we’re gonna have to play around.”
Sabonis further added, “And that’s just gonna make teams—It’s gonna make it so much harder for teams to guard us cause they’re not gonna know where—Basically we can score from everywhere now.”
The Kings’ offense generally relied on Fox creating a shot for himself or driving to the rim. The second option on offense is to get the ball to Sabonis to create something for himself in the paint.
But with DeRozan’s addition, the team’s offense is much more varied now. This would create more problems for opposing squads to pay extra attention to another All-Star veteran who can score from the mid-range at will.
Sabonis is convinced that DeRozan’s addition is bound to make the Kings’ offense flourish. But it isn’t just the All-Star center who is convinced that DeMar will help the franchise get back to its glory days. When speaking to Fox40 News, the six-time All-Star too was looking forward to playing with his new teammates.
“I know from my standpoint of my knowledge, my understanding, my approach to the game, my way of being coachable is going to fit, without doubt.”
As DeMar DeRozan enters his 16th year in the league, now with the Kings, he remains confident that he’ll seamlessly integrate into Sacramento’s culture, even in the twilight of his career. Now, it’s just a matter of waiting to see the kind of impact DeRozan will have on the Kings’ franchise.
