Sacramento Kings' fans had a lot of big expectations for Nique Clifford, with some calling him the steal of the draft. The reality of Clifford's season so far has been rather underwhelming, but it's not his fault. He's a guard on a team overloaded with guards, and is fighting to get time to develop.
This is an issue that has been plaguing the Kings for a long time at this point. During the era of Monte McNair, Sacramento was focused on acquiring small guards who were big shooters. Things like size and defense weren't really a consideration during that run.
To be fair to McNair, a lot of that direction likely came from co-owner Vivek Ranadive, who is notorious for being heavily involved in every aspect of his club. As many Sactown fans can attest to, that level of micromanaging has not worked out well for the Kings. They are currently five and 17, after all.
The problem this creates is multiple guards competing for the same two spots on the court and the same minutes. It's an issue with the King's roster that pundits and analysts have been talking about for years, in large part because it has absolutely derailed their development process.
Nique Clifford is already stuck in the Kings' bad development cycle
When you're a rookie guard looking for time to grow and develop, not getting regular minutes in games is a massive issue. It's a cycle in Sacramento that has already botched the development of Devin Carter and Keon Ellis. Now, it's coming for Nique Clifford.
Neither Carter or Ellis are where they should be at this point in their careers, and it's not their fault. The Kings have utterly fumbled their development. Carter never plays anymore. When the Kings do put Ellis on the court, they don't seem to know what to do with him.
To make matters worse, the Kings appear to be done with Carter and Ellis, and are actively looking at trading them instead of actually working with them. Now, Clifford is in the same cycle, sitting on the bench and getting inconsistent minutes while his limited development window closes.
Maxime Raynaud is a prime example of this being done right. With Domantas Sabonis out, Raynaud is getting a lot of time on the court and his improvement has been dramatic. Clifford needs to be put to work in the same fashion, or the Kings will be looking trade him in a couple of years, too.