As it stands, we know four of the five players who will start for the Sacramento Kings to start the regular season if everyone is healthy (De'Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis).
The only position that there are still questions about is shooting guard. The reason for this is that the Kings have three legitimate candidates to don the mantle of starting two-guard: Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, and Keon Ellis.
With that in mind, which one of these three options is the one who will most likely start for the team next season?
What The Fans Think
As I tend to do with debatable questions like this, I asked the good people on Twitter (I refuse to call it "X") what their thoughts were on the situation. Fortunately, I was able to get a solid sample size (114 votes). Here is what they had to say:
Who will be the Kings' starting shooting guard next season?
— Mat Issa (@matissa15) July 10, 2024
In a shocking twist, Ellis – the player with the least prestige and experience – is the one who received the highest amount of the vote share (46.5%). In second place, we have Monk, who had 29.8% of the vote share. And in third place, we had Huerter (15.8%). Then, 7.9% of votes went to the "other" category (this could be someone they trade/sign for, Devin Carter, or DeMar DeRozan if they decide to go with a big starting lineup, etc.).
What I Think
In the ideal world, I agree with the fans. I think that they have a good thing going with Monk coming off the bench and anchoring those lineups (and closing games when he's hot). Huerter is a great shooter/spacer, but he's coming off a down year, and the starting five already has enough offensively-inclined players. On top of that, I'm not even sure he will be on the team to start the season.
That leaves us with Ellis. Ellis was one of the biggest bright spots of last season, and he gives the Kings a blend of spacing and defense at the two-guard position that the other two simply don't – a blend that could connect all the dots for their starting lineup.
With that said, while this is what I think the Kings should do, what I think they will do (if he is still on the roster) is start Huerter since he's been the starting shooting guard for the last two years. Then, if he doesn't bounce back from his shakey 2023-24 season, they will turn to Ellis.