The Sacramento Kings have gotten off to a slow start and need change

Despite a strong season from Zach LaVine, the Sacramento Kings appear to be going nowhere fast, with their direction still seen as a big unknown.

The organization, which acquired DeMar DeRozan last year and has several non-spacers in their current rotation, is not only struggling on the field, but stuck in the middle of nowhere with very little chance of breaking out of mediocrity.

Inconsistent play

Going into Friday, the team is 27th in the league in offense, thanks in large part to a low three-point percentage and poor efficiency from, well, everywhere.

They rank 15th in pace, which is almost an achievement considering how many guys, like DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, are not very athletic floor runners.

Their defense is somehow in the middle of the league, which is even more impressive when you consider that their best defender – Keegan Murray – has yet to see the floor this season.

But despite defensive optimism, it’s simply not enough to overcome a truly terrible offense, and a roster structure that is – at best – seriously flawed and lacking the necessary two-way players to make a real push toward the playoffs.

Is there a way to move forward this season and turn the story around? Probably. This is the NBA, after all, and teams are constantly finding gimmicks that can get them wins in the regular season.

Putting a greater emphasis on offensive execution, especially by minimizing the roles of half-court-oriented players, would be a start, but an increased assist would of course be a trade that moves them away from DeRozan and brings in a more fluid wing who doesn’t need the ball as much to be effective.

What does the trading market look like?

For the Kings, they don’t have a plethora of options right now. They could make Sabonis and LaVine available, but that would certainly be a sign of a complete teardown — and that’s an idea that shouldn’t be lightly dismissed.

Unfortunately for Sacramento, most teams looking to make such a turnaround will need blue chip prospects to justify such a detour, which will take years.

Very simple: they don’t have that. Some will point to Murray, who just signed a five-year extension worth $140 million as a player in that camp, but he’s already 25 and about to reach his peak.

This brings us back to the overarching question: what are the Kings doing? Do they even know? There is no transparency behind their actions over the past year, and whatever logic they have applied seems broken or inconsistent.

We’ll see if they come up with something before the trade deadline in February, because the need for change has become dramatic.

Unless otherwise stated, all statistics are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the glass or Basketball reference. All salary information via Spotter. All opportunities thanks to FanDuel Sportsbook.