McNair open to trades but wants to give Kings roster a chance originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Programming Note: Mark Jones’ interview with Monte McNair will re-air during “Kings Pregame Live” 4:30 p.m. PT on Saturday before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Kings enter their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday with a 27-20 record and in third place in the Western Conference.
Sacramento’s impressive start to the 2022-23 NBA season means that general manager Monte McNair and his front office now are tasked with exploring the trade market for potential roster upgrades.
But McNair isn’t so sure the Kings’ current roster needs anything at the moment.
“We’re really excited about this group,” McNair told NBC Sports California’s Mark Jones in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “We’ve seen improvement every month of the year. So we want to continue to let this group grow and gel together. Our starting lineup has been one of the best in the entire NBA. We have three or four five-man units that play a ton, that have worked well together. And so we want to continue to let those guys grow and continue to build on the success we’ve had so far.”
Led by All-Star candidates De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Kings lead the NBA in scoring at 119.7 points per game. The offseason additions of Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray have solidified first-year head coach Mike Brown’s rotation.
With a healthy roster, Brown is using anywhere from nine to 11 players during a normal game, and when the playoffs roll around, most teams reduce their rotation. So if McNair adds at the trade deadline, someone playing meaningful minutes might have to come out of the current rotation.
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But with Brown having reset the culture in Sacramento, it’s very likely that the Kings can bring a player in and incorporate him into the system without much issue.
