3 Biggest disappointments of the Sacramento Kings’ season to this point

2. The bench 

In today’s NBA most great teams rely on star power, but that alone is not always enough. You need a good supporting cast and a bench that can keep the game going while the starters are out. 

The Kings struggle with that. Beyond Malik Monk and Trey Lyles, their bench has been largely unreliable. Davion Mitchell, Kessler Edwards, and Alex Len are all producing less than last season. Len and Edwards have been out of the rotation for much of the season, and Mitchell, a former lottery pick, just hasn’t made the jump people expected to see by his third season. 

On top of that, none of the offseason additions have managed to have a lasting impact. JaVale McGee keeps losing minutes to Len, Chris Duarte went from starting to being out of the rotation, and Sasha Vezenkov never really found a rhythm. 

All three, plus Mitchell, were supposed to have an impact, but that didn’t work out, and it is hurting the Kings. It is tough to withstand injuries and off nights if there is nothing behind the main guys. 

Early in the season, it was so bad that Coach Mike Brown threw Keon Ellis into the mix. For Ellis, it was great. He earned a standard three-year contract. It didn't bode well for the team, however, that for quite a while one of the best backups on the bench was a two-way player with little NBA experience. 

The Kings’ depth is not great, and since no move was made at the trade deadline, it will have to be addressed during the offseason, hopefully with better additions than last summer.