National Basketball Association

Sacramento Kings: Best Rotations- Offensive

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:08 a.m. ET

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Feb 24, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) between plays against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Sacramento Kings 108-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

This article discusses the Kings best rotation when they are looking for offense. This is the next installment in our best rotations series.

Every NBA team runs through numerous rotations during the lengthy regular season. Today, we are looking at the Sacramento Kings best offensive lineup. For this exercise, I ignored the defensive end of the court completely and only looked at offensive contributions for players on the current Kings roster. I kept players at the positions they should play during the season. Without further ado, here is my opinion on the Kings best offensive lineup for this season.

Feb 26, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) dribbles the ball in against the Los Angeles Clippers during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Clippers won 117-107. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Point Guard- Darren Collison

Darren Collison is an efficient scorer who brings a multifaceted offensive attack to the floor. In his two seasons in Sacramento, Collison has averaged 31.8 minutes per game while shooting 48.0% from the field, 82.7% from the line, and 38.9% 3-point territory. Throw in 1.2 three-pointers, 4.8 assists, 2.0 turnovers, and 14.8 points per game. The stats speak for themselves, Collison is a truly efficient offensive player for the Kings.

Replacement alert! If Ty Lawson can return to his production from 2013-2015, then he would probably earn the selection here. Last season, Lawson bounced around and was not effective, but he is still only 28 years old. If Lawson joined this rotation, it would lose some efficiency (Lawson shots lower percentages in all three areas) and would create more turnovers (2.1 per game for his career). Lawson would bring more points and assists to the floor, though.

The separating category between these two players for me was the advanced metric offensive win shares. Collison earned a three-year average of 3.77 offensive win shares per season, while Lawson only managed 3.67. Lawson last season’s 0.2 offensive win shares crushed his average rating, so the bounce back would push Lawson well ahead of Mister Collison. If we see early signs of Lawson returning to form, I would remove Collison from this rotation and replace him with Ty Lawson.

Feb 20, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks guard Arron Afflalo (4) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammad (15) during the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Shooting Guard- Arron Afflalo

Arron Afflalo is an effective scorer especially from beyond the arc. Afflalo is a career 45.2% shooter from the field, 82.0% from the free throw line, and 38.5% from three-point distance. He chips in 1.2 three-pointers, 2.0 assists, 1.2 turnovers, and 11.6 points per game in an average of 28.7 minutes a night.

I thought he would fit in great on this line-up to space the floor. That career 38.5% from downtown is going to make coaches take notice and draw defensive attention. Throw in 42.4% on corner three-pointers and Afflalo creates space for other players to work. Afflalo is a proven NBA veteran who can drop the occasional dime and he seemed like the fit for the Kings best offensive rotation this season.

Afflalo, also, possesses a pretty amazing handle and is known for crossing over some of the league’s best defenders. Below is a video of him making Kentavious Caldwell-Pope look bad on a beautiful crossover.

I thought hard about playing both Lawson and Collison as the guards in this rotation. My main concern was the play of Lawson last year. He just produced nothing to inspire me to throw him into the lineup. I am hoping he turns it around and revives his career with the Kings this season, but at this point, I had to choose Arron Afflalo over him.

Jan 15, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Sacramento Kings small forward Rudy Gay (8) looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Kings won 111-108. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Small Forward- Rudy Gay

There were two no-brainer selections for this rotation and the first one was Rudy Gay. Rudy Gay is the definition of a proven scorer averaging over 17 points per game in every season since his rookie year in 2006-2007.

Let us take a look at Rudy Gay’s numbers from just his time with the Sacramento Kings. He joined the Kings part way through the 2013-2014 NBA season and then spent the last two full seasons wearing the Kings jersey. In that time, he has shot 46.5% from the field, 83.0% from the free throw line, and 34.2% from beyond the three-point line. Gay adds in 1.0 three-pointer, 1.5 offensive rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.5 turnovers, and 19.4 points per in game in 34.6 minutes a night. Scoring, efficient shooting, and a little playmaking ability show Gay is truly a force on the offensive end of the floor.

Sep 26, 2016; Sacramento , CA, USA; Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive (black jacket) speaks with forward Omri Casspi (18) during media day at Sacramento Kings practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Power Forward- Omri Casspi

Omri Casspi may be somewhat of a surprise selection, but I think he deserves the inclusion. Let us view his stats from his second stint with the Kings spanning the last two seasons. In those two seasons, Casspi has shot 48.4% from the field, 69.4% from the free throw line, and 40.7% from beyond the three-point line. In some ways the NBA is a pace and space league nowadays and throwing on a player that can shoot forty percent or better from three is a big advantage.

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The Kings expanded the role of Casspi last season and he produced with that extra run. Looking at the advanced metrics, he created 2.0 and 2.1 offensive win shares the last two seasons with the Kings in an average of 24.2 minutes per game.

The last feather in the cap of Casspi is his corner three-point shooting. He shoots 42.2% for his career on corner threes. Last season, he nailed 43.5% on those attempts. He is not going to need the ball in his hands and can just spot up, space the floor, and knock down triples. That makes him my choice for the best offensive lineup for the Kings this season.

Note: Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi would be pretty interchangeable in this lineup, so you could say Gay was the power forward and Casspi was the small forward if you preferred to view it in that respect. I chose it this way because Basketball-Reference classified Casspi as playing 66% of his minutes at PF last year and Gay only 24% of his minutes.

Sep 26, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during media day at the Sacramento Kings practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Center- DeMarcus Cousins

The best offensive player on the Kings and one of the NBA’s best offensive players, DeMarcus Cousins, is the center. Before I gush over Cousins’ offensive statistics and play more, please enjoy this video highlighting some of his top career plays.

I could pretty much go on all day about all the things that make Cousins a great offensive player, but I will attempt to sum it up with a few stats. Cousins averaged 26.9 points per game last season and that number has increased each of the last four seasons. He added the three-point field goal to his repertoire last season sinking 1.1 per game on 33.3%. He also produced 2.4 offensive rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 7.3 free throws made per game last season. All stats in the article courtesy of Basketball-Reference. He is truly a matchup nightmare for defenders and I expect another season of growth for Cousins in his age 26 season. Enjoy watching Cousins dominate on the offensive end this season.

Summary

The Kings roster looks like it can create a dynamic and efficient offensive lineup this season. Their best offensive rotation would be anchored by DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. I added in Darren Collison, Arron Afflalo, and Omri Casspi to complete this season’s best offensive rotation.

This rotation gives them a good mix of inside scorers and floor spacing shooters. It should allow the Kings play free and move the ball around the court to set up high percentage attempts. I will be interested in watching this lineup compete this season and view their effectiveness. On paper, it looks like a great lineup, but they have to jell on the court to produce. Here is to hoping it produces exciting offense and leads the Kings to some glory. Thank you for reading.

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