The Kings officially began 2022-23 training camp Tuesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, signaling the start of their mission to snap the team's historic 16-year playoff drought.
Sacramento enters camp with the maximum 20 players on roster, including a pair of two-way contracts in Neemias Queta and Keon Ellis. The Kings will need to trim down to 17 players (including the two-way deals) by the Oct. 17 deadline, one day before the season tips off.
Regardless of the roster moves ahead, the Kings plan to make some noise this season.
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That's a good start, coach.
Let's dive in to how the roster looks on Day 1 of practice:
Point guard
NBA
De'Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Matthew Dellavedova, Quinn Cook
Believe it or not, Fox is entering his sixth NBA campaign. In 2021-22, the first season of the five-year contract extension, Fox averaged 23.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He has been the Kings' leading scorer the past three seasons and is expected to do the same once again.
But, still, Fox has yet to reach his ceiling. He's only 24 years old and could be on the verge of a breakout campaign as he builds chemistry with big man Domantas Sabonis.
"I would still be considered a young guy in every facet, in every way of life," Fox said to reporters Monday at Kings Media Day. "I've been doing this for going on six years, so it seems like I'm older. But if you can't get better at 24 years old to however long you're going to play, there's a problem."
Mitchell will be Fox's primary backup at the point guard position. The 23-year-old finished his rookie season on a tear, averaging 17.1 points and 7.3 assists over the last 16 contests.
Dellavedova, a training camp invite, didn't play in the NBA last season, suiting up for Melbourne United in his native Australia instead. He will be battling for a roster spot. If "Delly" makes the team, the veteran will try to summon the defensive mindset that made him a folk hero in the Cleveland Cavaliers' run to the 2015 NBA Finals.
Cook, another training camp invite, brings championship pedigree to Sacramento as a two-time league winner with the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.
Shooting guard
Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, Terence Davis, Sam Merrill
One of the biggest questions surrounding Brown's rotation is who will start at the two-guard position between Huerter and Monk, both offseason acquisitions by general manager Monte McNair.
Does it matter? Not really. It's much more important to see who Brown plays in crunch time, but it's still fun to predict which player will hear his name announced in the starting five on opening night -- Oct. 19 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
"Of course I want to start," Monk said Monday. "But I don't mind coming off the bench, either. I'm going to go out there and be the best version of myself I can be and do everything I can for Mike Brown so we can win."
Huerter has started significantly more games than Monk -- 216 to 38, respectively. However, Monk has more proven chemistry playing alongside Fox, his college teammate at Kentucky.
Aside from Huerter and Monk, Davis is entering the final season of his two-year deal inked last summer. Davis missed the Kings' final 33 games of the 2021-22 season after undergoing surgery on his right wrist in January and will be looking to carve out a role off the bench.
Merrill, Queta's college teammate at Utah State, has played 36 games for the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies the past two seasons. He'll be fighting for a spot on the final roster.
Small forward
Harrison Barnes, Kent Bazemore, KZ Okpala, Chima Moneke
Barnes was linked to a trade rumor or two in the offseason, but he is happy to be back for a fourth full season in Sacramento.
"This is a fun group. We have a lot of personalities here," Barnes said Monday. "A lot of shared experiences, guys who have played at different stops together. It's been cool to see the different synergies that have naturally formed."
Bazemore, who was signed by the Kings in August, provides the young roster with another veteran leader alongside Barnes. At his peak, Bazemore was known to be an impact defender with his 7-foot wingspan. He appeared in 39 games for the Los Angeles Lakers last season and averaged 3.4 points in 14 minutes per game.
On a two-year contract, Okpala is an intriguing addition having played for Brown on the Nigerian national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Brown once labeled him a candidate to win Defensive Player of the Year at some point in the youngster's career.
Unlike Okpala, Moneke was left off Team Nigeria's Olympic roster last summer. The former UC Davis star played in Spain last season, averaging 14.8 points in 34 games for Baxi Manresa.
Power forward
Keegan Murray, Trey Lyles, Chimezie Metu
Murray occupied the spotlight all summer for the Kings and couldn't have represented the organization better. In seven total summer league games -- three in the California Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco and another four in Las Vegas -- Murray racked up 21.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 41.2 percent from downtown. He deservedly was named MVP in Las Vegas.
The No. 4 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft looks the part so far.
"I think it fits me perfectly," Murray said of Sacramento on Monday. "Not a big city, but just a really good vibe all around from what I've seen. It's been good to me so far. I'm excited to see more."
Murray isn't a guarantee to start opening night, but it's likely. Lyles and Metu will chip in with Barnes and other small forwards at the four, as today's position-less game of basketball goes.
Metu was responsible for one of the brightest moments of the Kings' 2021-22 season, knocking down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired to beat the Dallas Mavericks in December.
Center
Domantas Sabonis, Richaun Holmes, Alex Len
Sabonis will take his partnership with Fox into the 2022-23 season. The 6-foot-11 big man only played 15 games for the Kings after getting traded from the Indiana Pacers at the deadline, averaging 18.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.
"I think it's only going to get better," Sabonis said of his chemistry with Fox. "The more we play together, we're going to know our habits and what we like and where we like the ball, or how he likes me setting the screen. As the season goes on, I feel like our chemistry is going to get better and better."
Holmes will continue to chip away at Sacramento's efforts on the glass. He has averaged double-digit points in each of his three seasons with the Kings and had a career year in 2020-21 with 14.2 points and 8.3 boards per game.
After Sabonis arrived in Sacramento last February, Len appeared in just six games and likely will have another minuscule role this upcoming season.
Two-way deals
Neemias Queta, Keon Ellis
Queta and Ellis occupy the Kings’ pair of two-way contract spots.
Queta, a three-year star at Utah State, played 14 games for Sacramento as a rookie. Ellis went undrafted this spring out of Alabama, but looked impressive in seven total summer league games, knocking down 46.9 percent of his attempts from deep.