Channing Frye stands convinced that the Sacramento Kings made a mistake in pursuing DeMar DeRozan this past offseason.
In the recent segment of Road Trippin’, the former NBA veteran believes that DeRozan simply disturbed the Kings’ system with their clashing play styles.
“DeMar DeRozan is a very good player, but he was the opposite of what they needed and it completely ruined that whole vibe,” Frye claimed. “They like to play up and down, shoot the three, they were passing this thing, but all of a sudden they’re 22nd in passes. I think their pace per game is in the lower 20s.
“The way they have confidence when they play, it ain’t there. They’re not built to play slow.”
Landing a $72 million deal for three years, the Kings obtained DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade through a three-team transaction with the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs this past offseason. In hindsight, it was a major move pulled by Sacramento to push their competitive odds to the next level.
But as of right now, the Kings are yet to greatly seize the benefits they’re seeking from the acquisition of the All-Star. Even though DeRozan is averaging stellar numbers of 22.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.2 boards that contribute to the major firepower of the team that already boasts De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Malik Monk, Sacramento still has been stuck at the 12th place on the tight placing of the Western Conference standings (9-12).
After acquiring DeRozan, initial skepticism was formed about how Mike Brown and the Kings would integrate DeRozan — a ball-dominant, mid-range specialist player — into their fast-paced schemes with shooting and passing emphasis. Statistically this season, the Kings are at the 20th in assists per game (24.9) — much lower than the Top 7 average they tallied in 2022-23 (27.3) and 2023-24 (28.3). From being one of the top three-point shooting teams in the past two years, the Kings are now just registering 33.2 percent efficiency from downtown — the league’s sixth worst.
“Just because they gave up the most 20-point leads last year, that doesn’t mean you go get the guy who’s clutch. You got to go get a Sacramento Kings player, and I don’t think they did that,” Frye added.
“The spacing is bad, the rhythm is bad. They don’t believe in each other.”
The plenty of negativity around Sac-Town is simply understandable. As everyone in the NBA has finally approached the first quarter of the season, the Kings are yet to gel together and consistently live up to their desired promise.
But Sacramento can at least be thankful that the ongoing season remains considerably young in which they can still find their groove and turn the tables around. And with plenty of assets on their shelf, General Manager Monte McNair can make several efforts to improve the team’s needs and overall construction ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
We can only wait and see if DeRozan and the Kings will eventually claw their way back on track and prove doubters wrong about their intriguing partnership.
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