The Sacramento Kings Futures Odds (BetDSI Sportsbook)
Sacramento Kings to win the Pacific Division: +25000
Sacramento Kings to win the Western Conference: +35000
Sacramento Kings to win the NBA Championship: +75000
Sacramento Kings Total Win Prediction: Total 30.5 (Over -115, Under – 115)
The Sacramento Kings finished the last season in the respectable 12th position in the West, considering all that happened during the campaign. They parted ways with DeMarcus Cousins after six and a half years as GM and the Kings legend Vlade Divac decided that is the right time to move on for both sides. Sacramento recorded 32 victories despite Dave Joerger’s inability to find a consistent starting five, while some young stars emerged in the process.
The Kings made the biggest changes from all NBA teams during this summer, adding plenty of young talent to the roster, along with a few veterans who should create a healthy balance in the squad. Rookies and the newcomers will require time to adapt and develop good chemistry, so it is not strange why the Kings are ranked as the 14th or 15th team in the Western Conference. Rebuilding will last for a while, and nobody expects them even to come close to the playoff picture.
Talking about the newcomers, Zach Randolph, George Hill, and Vince Carter are the veterans who will serve as the team leaders and mentors to the youngsters. Only their presence in the team will give wings to the players like Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, and rookies Bogdan Bogdanovic, Justin Jackson, and De’Aaron Fox.
Read on to find out more about the Sacramento Kings offseason moves and the 2017/2018 futures and props brought to you by BetDSI Sportsbook. Also, don’t forget to visit our Get More Sports website for more NBA teams season previews.
The 2017/2018 Sacramento Kings Roster
Arrivals: Vince Carter, George Hill, Zach Randolph, De’Aaron Fox, Frank Mason, Harry Giles, Justin Jackson, Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Departures: Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, Rudy Gay, Ty Lawson, Ben McLemore, Anthony Tolliver, Eric Moreland.
The Sacramento Kings selected De’Aaron Fox with the 5th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and the 19-year-old point guard will serve as a backup to George Hill but is viewed as a part of the big plan for the future. The New Orleans-born spent the 2016/17 with the Kentucky Wildcats, averaging 16.7 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.9 rpg, and 1.5 spg in 29.6 mpg, winning the First-team All-SEC, SEC All-Freshman Team, and SEC Tournament MVP honors in the process. These achievements placed him quite high in the draft, and the Kings will be happy to have a young player with enormous talent such as Fox. He only played college basketball for a year, and Sacramento will surely not rush the youngster, but will gradually introduce Fox off the bench, at least until he matures as a player.
Another rookie point guard joined the Kings this summer; Frank Mason III was selected with the 34th pick overall, and he was one of the most impressive backcourt players in the NCAA in 2016/17. Mason averaged 20.9 ppg, 5.2 apg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.3 spg in 36.1 mpg for the Kansas Jayhawks. During his senior year at Kansas University, Mason won the Bob Cousy Award and was named the National college player of the year, but also made it to the Consensus first-team All-American, First-team All-Big 12, and was voted the Big 12 Player of the Year. With honors like these, it will be hard for Joerger to keep him on the bench, and Mason will probably split minutes with Fox, even though he’s listed as the No. 3 option for the point guard spot.
Justin Jackson was the 15th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and was initially selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, but they traded him to Sacramento for Zach Collins. The 22-year-old small forward won the NCAA in 2016/17 with the North Carolina Tar Heels, winning the ACC Player of the Year award, and making it to the Consensus first-team All-American and First-team All-ACC. The Houston-born forward is listed behind Malachi Richardson on the depth chart, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he receives more minutes than Richardson when the seasons starts.
One more player was the part of a trade with the Blazers – Harry Giles, who was selected with the 20th pick overall, but after impressive performances in high school, Giles failed to make an impact at college, with the Duke Blue Devils. Still, he was highly rated in this year’s draft, and the Kings decided to take a chance on him. Giles will serve as the No. 4 option at the center position, behind Kosta Koufos, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Georgios Papagiannis.
Probably the most exciting and one of the best European players at the moment, Bogdan Bogdanovic, switched the Old Continent for NBA three years following his original draft, when the Phoenix Suns took him with the 27th pick overall. The Serbian shooting guard had an outstanding year behind him, winning the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce and making it to the All-EuroLeague First Team. Bogdanovic averaged 16.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, and 1.1 spg while shooting .430 from beyond the arc. Vlade Divac is well aware of Bogdan’s qualities and knows that he matured as a player and is ready to become a star at the highest level. Although he is behind Buddy Hield, Garrett Temple, and Vince Carter in the pecking order, there is no doubt that Bogdanovic will receive enough minutes to showcase his tremendous talent.
Zach Randolph joined the Kings after eight years with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he signed a two-year contract. The 36-year-old is still a very solid player and was quite helpful for the Grizzlies in 2016/17, averaging 14.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg in 24.5 mpg, and will represent a massive reinforcement for this young Sacramento team. Randolph will definitely get around 25 minutes per contest, and the two-time All-Star still has enough fuel in the tank to compete. George Hill signed a three-year deal following an excellent 2016/17 with the Utah Jazz, where he averaged 16.9 ppg (career high), 4.2 apg, 3.4 rpg, and 1.0 spg in 31.5 mpg. The former Indiana Pacer will be the starting point guard for the upcoming campaign, and his experience should be vital for his deputies Fox and Mason. Finally, the Kings added legendary Vince Carter after his contract with the Grizzlies ended. Carter proved many that he is not too old to play in the NBA, averaging 8.0 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 24.7 mpg for Memphis in 2016/17, and the 40-year-old shooting guard is entering his last season in the NBA. Younger players will certainly learn a lot from him, and Carter surely has plenty to teach them.
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| George Hill | Buddy Hield | Malachi Richardson | Skal Labissiere | Kosta Koufos |
| De’Aaron Fox | Garrett Temple | Justin Jackson | Zach Randolph | Willie Cauley-Stein |
| Frank Mason III | Vince Carter | Georgios Papagiannis | ||
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | Harry Giles |
Even nine players left Sacramento this summer including Rudy Gay, Tyreke Evans, Ty Lawson, and Darren Collison. The Kings will miss Gay, who was one of the team’s best players in the previous three seasons, but he joined the Sacramento Kings, as the 31-year-old is trying to get the NBA ring. Gay averaged 18.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg in 33.8 mpg, but he appeared in just 30 games in 2016/17 due to an injury. Tyreke Evans’ second stint with the Kings was short as he played in only 14 matches, averaging 11.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, and 2.4 apg. His versatility will be missed, but the 27-year-old decided to move to the Memphis Grizzlies. Darren Collison returned to the Indiana Pacers after three years with the Kings, but at least, Sacramento brought George Hill, so there are no concerns about who will create plays in 2017/18. Ty Lawson had a rough time since he left Denver in 2015 and he was never the player he used to be with the Nuggets. Lawson averaged 9.9 ppg and 4.8 apg in 25.1 mpg for the Kings in 2016/17, and he went to China to represent the Shandong Golden Stars.
The Bottom Line and Total Win Prediction
Although the starting lineup doesn’t seem too encouraging at the moment, there’s plenty of talent on this team, and the Kings will likely become a force in the coming years, but for now, they will have to battle with the Phoenix Suns at the bottom of the Western Conference. The Kings will find it hard to repeat the last year’s number of 32 victories, and the bookies share my opinion as the BetDSI Sportsbook set the number of season wins at 30.5, so I would opt for under on this occasion.
Season total wins: Under (-115)
