The Kings continue to try and build upon their young
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PG |
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5 |
84
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#17 PG | 1 | 6' 3" | 185 | 23 | 12/20/97 | 4th season | Kentucky |
PG |
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0 |
75
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#70 PG | 1 | 6' 5" | 185 | 20 | 2/29/00 | Rookie | Iowa State |
PG |
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9 |
74
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#74 PG | 1 | 6' 3" | 200 | 29 | 8/20/91 | 10th season | Texas |
PG |
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19 |
71
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#99 PG | 1 | 6' 5" | 230 | 23 | 8/30/97 | 2nd season | Tulsa |
PG |
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10 |
74
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#72 PG | 2 | 6' 7" | 190 | 23 | 1/24/97 | 2nd season | Wyoming |
PG |
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7 |
66
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#134 PG | 2 | 6' 1" | 167 | 23 | 8/11/97 | 2nd season | Virginia |
PG |
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3 |
70
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#105 PG | 6' 3" | 190 | 19 | 6/9/01 | Rookie | Texas Tech | |
SG |
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24 |
84
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#11 SG | 1 | 6' 4" | 220 | 28 | 12/17/92 | 5th season | Oklahoma |
SF |
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40 |
78
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#29 SF | 1 | 6' 8" | 225 | 28 | 5/30/92 | 9th season | North Carolina |
SF |
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13 |
68
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#80 SF | 2 | 6' 7" | 235 | 21 | 9/22/99 | Rookie | Mississippi State |
PF |
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35 |
79
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#29 PF | 1 | 6' 11" | 235 | 21 | 3/14/99 | 3rd season | Duke |
PF |
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22 |
79
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#28 PF | 1 | 6' 10" | 235 | 27 | 10/15/93 | 6th season | Bowling Green |
PF |
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8 |
81
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#15 PF | 2 | 6' 10" | 234 | 32 | 5/9/88 | 6th season | |
PF |
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33 |
74
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#53 PF | 2 | 6' 8" | 245 | 25 | 3/15/95 | 7th season | Duke |
PF |
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25 |
76
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#83 PF | 6' 9" | 225 | 23 | 3/22/97 | 3rd season | USC | |
C |
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20 |
82
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#15 C | 1 | 7' 0" | 265 | 31 | 6/13/89 | 9th season | Marshall |
C |
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68
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#80 C | 2 | 6' 10" | 231 | 27 | 2/3/93 | 2nd season | St. John's |
De'Aaron Fox started to look like a starter late into his rookie year, and then he excelled in the 2018/19 campaign averaging 17.3 points per game with 7.3 assets and 1.6 steals. We can only expect better production from him in his third season in 2019/20. Signing a defensive-minded veteran Cory Joseph for 3 years is a good move for the Kings, in my opinion, but as stated above only works if the young core is producing to the full extent of their abilities. All in all, with Fox likely to have even better production this year and the addition of a veteran who is going to give you strong defensive possessions, the point guard position looks much better for the Kings going into the 2019/20 season than it did last year.
In the world of speculating about sports, there are no definitives. That being said, I will do my best to give an outline of who to watch out for on the Kings in 2019/20. An interesting tidbit that most NBA fans probably forgot was that Bogdan Bogdanovic was supposed to be the starting shooting guard last year, but due to injury had to miss a handful of games at the beginning of the season. This opened the door for Buddy Hield to steal the spot. Hield had a monster year last year, averaging 20.7 points per game with a FG% of 45.8. The 26-year-old shooting guard should first and foremost be on your radar for a Kings player with high production. Harrison Barnes is another name that appears on the Kings' 2019/20 depth chart that one should pay attention to. He's a solid small forward and has put up impressive numbers in the past. I'll also throw in De'Aaron Fox as someone to keep a close eye on as he enters his third season.
In short, absolutely. They were painfully close coming in at the 9th seed in the West last year, although they were 9.0 games behind the Clippers who secured the 8 spot. Luke Walton emerges as the coach for the Kings this year, which could potentially have a big impact. Last years' Lakers season could leave a bad taste in fans' mouth about Walton, but he's still a solid coach who could potentially have better success on a team without a clearly defined superstar. Vlade Divac didn't go out and get superstars in free agency, but he added some role players who definitely make it possible for the Kings to grab a playoff spot.