Kings Notes: McNair, Fox, Sabonis, Haliburton, DiVincenzo

Kings team president Monte McNair is confident that new addition Domantas Sabonis will fit well alongside pricey star point guard De’Aaron Fox, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter).

“We think [Sabonis’] skillset complements De’Aaron,” McNair said. “De’Aaron’s skillset complements him. And Domas’ skillset complements just about everybody.”

McNair discussed his decision to move promising young guard Tyrese Haliburton to the Pacers in a package for Sabonis, writes Anderson in a separate story.

“This was a unique opportunity to acquire a two-time All-Star and two veteran wings [in Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb], all [of] whom will help us, as we continue to build here in Sacramento,” McNair said.

Sacramento, which has not made an NBA postseason since 2006, is hoping that its new-look roster can at least lead it to the play-in tournament. The team’s current 22-36 record positions it just 1.5 games behind the current No. 10 seed, the Trail Blazers, with plenty of time to catch up.

There’s more out of Sacramento:

  • Domantas Sabonis is enjoying his tenure with the Kings thus far, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. In two contests with his new club, both wins, the 6’11” power forward/center is averaging 19.0 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 6.0 APG. “Since the second I made it to the NBA, I figured out the hard way it’s a business,” the two-time All-Star said after his first game. “I got traded on draft night, and then a year later, I got traded again. I’m just trying to find a home where I’m loved … and I feel like I found it here. I love it here.”
  • Not everyone is excited about the Kings’ decision to move on from an exciting young prospect like Tyrese Haliburton. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic tries to make sense of the Kings’ choice to trade the 6’5″ guard, who had been Sacramento’s top performer this year, to Indiana. Vecenie pegs the 21-year-old Haliburton as a future All-Star, one capable of doing well with or without the ball in his hands. Vecenie acknowledges that the pairing of Sabonis and Fox could help the team in theory, though Fox has regressed so far this season and Sabonis could reach free agency in 2024. As a second-year NBA player, Haliburton could have been under team control for significantly longer.
  • New Kings shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo is relishing his opportunity in Sacramento, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings initially tried to land DiVincenzo in the scuttled sign-and-trade deal for Bogdan Bogdanovic at the start of the 2020/21 season, then finally got their man as part of a four-team deadline day trade. “It was meant to be,” DiVincenzo said. “That mutual respect and wanting to be here and them wanting me here, it’s a super good feeling and it makes you want to go out and play as hard as you can for not only the team, but also the organization.” Though DiVincenzo has had a down year after returning from a June left ankle surgery, the Kings are hopeful that he can return to being the solid two-way contributor he was with for Bucks during much of the 2020/21 season. “I think he’s a very versatile defender,” Kings interim head coach Alvin Gentry said. “We can play him on ones, twos, threes. I think he does a good job of getting into the ball. I think he understands rotations and things like that. “
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