The Kings improve their bench
Outside of Malik Monk and Trey Lyles, the Kings’ bench has been largely unreliable. Davion Mitchell and Keon Ellis have both gone back and forth between being the backup ball handler and sitting on the bench. JaVale McGee and Alex Len have been taking turns as the backup center all season long.
Sasha Vezenkov just seemed to have secured his spot in the rotation but will now miss some time with an ankle injury. Kessler Edwards only plays once in a blue moon, and Chris Duarte went from starting to being out of the rotation to having a big fourth quarter in Denver.
Especially the three offseason additions haven’t had the impact they were expected to have and it’s been a problem. Trading for Duarte and signing McGee and Vezenkov were all solid, low-risk moves last summer. The Kings understandably didn't want to change too much and see what their core could do.
This summer has to be better. It is time to prepare this squad for contention, which means forming a reliable bench, preferably with some tough defenders Mike Brown can trust to have an impact on both ends of the floor.
Alex Caruso, for example, would be a great addition, if the Bulls are willing to let go of him—or Royce O’Neale, who just went to the competition in Phoenix and will be a free agent in the summer.