Since taking over as head coach, Doug Christie has been incredibly clear about his focus on defense. Unfortunately, the current roster doesn't match that goal, meaning the team is going to experience some serious changes or the head coach position will.
The reality is that Christie isn't wrong. With their team-building focused on shoot-first players for years, there has been no real defensive presence from the Kings. Some players, like Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, and Devin Carter, have those skills but they weren't being emphasized.
Now, Christie is in charge and making sure that everyone plays defense. The way he puts it, if a team member doesn't want to play defense, they don't play for the Sacramento Kings. As it turns out, that mentality only works when you have a roster loaded with defense-first players.
The Kings' slow offseason
It's been well documented that the Kings made next to no major moves in the offseason. The biggest ones sent Jonas Valanciunas to the Nuggets while bringing Dennis Schroder to Sacramento. Neither trade would be considered a blockbuster by any definition of the term.
This lack of moves made even less sense when training camp began and Christie made it clear his focus was defense. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan are known for a lot of great skills on the court, though none of them are related to defense.
Dennis Schroder is a tenacious defender. The problem is that he's so much better in the FIBA world than the NBA world. And Keegan Murray is a solid defender, but his injury will keep him on the bench for six weeks. Keon Ellis is likely to replace him on the starting five and is a capable defender.
Something has to change in Sacramento
Even with a growing group of young players who have defensive capabilities, the roster is not in a position to execute Christie's vision. That means either the front office has to finally rebalance the roster or find a new head coach who can work with the players the team has.
In theory, Christie could turn the current roster into elite defenders with enough work. That being said, it's hard to imagine seasoned veterans like Sabonis, LaVine, and DeRozan making such a big change in their respective games at this point in their careers.
It would be nice to see the Kings rebalance their roster after years of issues. But as Mike Brown knows all too well, Sacramento's front office is quick to blame the coach. If things don't pan out, no one would be surprised to see Christie join Brown's coaching staff on the Knicks next season.