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Leader's position is full in Sacramento. The same goes for the position of the shooting guard and the two front positions, and the Kings have three centers vying for the minutes as well.
It is the role of General Manager Vlade Divac to fill the list with as much talent as possible and it is perhaps the Kings' deepest team that has been reunited for a decade or more.
Having so many bodies to work with is a blessing. Having so many hungry mouths to feed is a curse. Divac has done its job and it's now up to new head coach Luke Walton to find a way to bring all these players together.
In case you missed players' profiles earlier this week, the Kings' depth chart at the summertime leader spot features De 'Aaron Fox as starter and Cory Joseph and Yogi Ferrell. arguing a few minutes behind the talented 21-year-old. .
Sacramento played at an incredible pace last season and the idea is to do more of the same thing this season. Fox is the focal point of the uptempo style of play, and in the third year, he is ready to take on more of this position than he did last season.
The numbers do not lie. When Fox was on the field, the Kings were a better team. Sacramento's pace went from 104.1 with Fox on the ground to 100.2 when he was sitting. Their offensive value with Fox on the field was 111.7 against 109 with him out of the field and the attacking team's score increased from 110.7 to 113.7 when Fox left the match.
There's a balance between playing Fox's main minutes and keeping him cool all season, but that number is over 31.4 minutes per game. In his 81 games last season, Fox played between 30 and 39 minutes per game 57 times, an average of 34.1 minutes per game during these competitions. He collected 18.8 points and 7.9 assists in these competitions, while getting a score of +3.4 per game in the plus / minus category.
Walton needs Fox on the field as much as possible. Beginners' Day, which averages more than 40 minutes per game, is over. Bradley Beal led the league in minutes played last year with 36.9 and only four players scored 36 minutes per game or more.
Punctual guards such as Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard and Kemba Walker all played about 35 minutes a night, which is probably what Fox will be playing this season.
If Fox even eats close to that number, what does it mean for Joseph and Ferrell? They fight for time and do not have much to lose.
Joseph signed a $ 37 million, three-year contract over the summer to serve as the primary reserve for Fox. At 6 feet 3 inches and 193 pounds, Joseph is a great physical guard who can play one or the other.
Last season in Indiana, Joseph scored 25.2 minutes per game and was a defensive pillar of the Pacers. While Nate McMillan's team showed a slight drop in pace (97.1 to 97.8) and offensive score (110.4 to 111) with Joseph on the field, his defensive presence more than offset the decline.
The Pacers offensive score against Joseph with Joseph on the ground was 104.7 with him on the field and 110.1 with him off the field. With the Western Conference in charge of first-rate guards, Joseph's ability to slow down the opposition is a welcome fact.
Walton will have to find time on the ground for Joseph. This probably means stealing time at the shooter's post and playing Fox and Joseph together at least a few minutes in half. But even that should limit the 28-year-old to 16-18 minutes per game.
Where does that leave Ferrell? We do not even need to dig into statistics. He will open the season as the team's fifth guard, but even that might not reflect his situation. Fox, Joseph, Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic can all play important minutes and all but Hield can handle the point.
In order to place his four front row guards in the rotation, Walton will also have to be creative and steal minutes for the group at the small striker position as well, where he already has veterans Harrison Barnes and Trevor Ariza.
Ferrell may have occasional remains, but unless he has a serious injury, he may have difficulty walking on the ground most nights.
This is a difficult position for Ferrell. It is primarily an offensive player who needs time on the ground to find a rhythm. He also enters the final year of his contract and sits behind two players who competed together to play 163 games out of a total of 164 last season.
[[[[RELATED: Why Popvich trusts Harrison Barnes]
Ferrell will have time to prove himself at training camp, but he is likely to enter the season knowing the minutes will be hard to find.
According to the forecasts for the season, Fox recorded an average of 34 to 35 minutes per game. Joseph scored 16-18 minutes, followed by Ferrell outside. Things may change, but Sacramento has invested heavily in Fox and Joseph. I will have plenty of time to direct the show.
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