DeMar DeRozan will have to accept this if the Sacramento Kings are going to be successful next year
By Mat Issa
DeMar DeRozan – a six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection – makes the Sacramento Kings a better team than they were last year (especially when you factor in his contract and what they gave up to get him). But if the Kings want to reach their ceiling as a team, the veteran is going to need to accept a role he may not be all that comfortable with.
DeRozan's reputation as a clutch performer
All offseason long, we've discussed DeRozan's prowess as a late-game player. Over the last five years, DeRozan has finished in the top four or higher in total clutch points in each season.
Year | DeRozan Clutch Time Total Points Rank |
|---|---|
2023-24 | 2nd |
2022-23 | 2nd |
2021-22 | 2nd |
2020-21 | 3rd |
2019-20 | 4th |
In the two years the league has offered the Clutch Player of the Year (CPY) award, DeRozan has placed third (in 2022-23) and second (2023-24) in the race, respectively. Simply put, DeRozan is an excellent crunch-time player.
DeRozan can't close every game
This is where the sacrifice comes in. Despite DeRozan's prowess as a clutch scorer, he probably won't be able to close every game for the Kings. Why, you ask?
To win in the NBA, you need talent and lineup balance. Ideally, you don't want too much (or too little) creation, too much defense, too much spacing, too much size (although you can almost never have too much of that), etc. You want a healthy dose of all that.
Between DeRozan, De'Aaron Fox (another clutch king), and Malik Monk, the Kings have three strong on-ball creators who are going to want to have chances at closing games. However, because of the reason we highlighted above, you only really want two of those three closing games for you.
Fox is your best player and franchise cornerstone. So, you are going to want him to be out there in every close game you play. That means that one of DeRozan or Monk won't be out there in crunch time.
On the nights DeRozan is feeling it, I'm sure head coach Mike Brown and company will want to keep him out there to finish the job (and Fox and he can be the "clutch brothers"). But on the nights when Monk is the better play, DeRozan will need to be ready to take one for the team and ride the pine to end games.
Given how well-respected he is throughout the league, I have no doubt that DeRozan will be able to embrace this role when necessary. But it is still a reality he will have to get used to, nonetheless.
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