The Sacramento Kings were handed a devastating blow today as the team announced that Keegan Murray will be sidelined for at least four to six weeks due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb.
“Forward Keegan Murray left the Kings’ preseason game versus the Portland Trail Blazers in the second quarter with a left thumb injury. An MRI revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament of the left thumb. Murray will undergo surgery and be reevaluated in approximately 4-6 weeks,” the Kings released.
Kings Have Plenty Of Options To Replace Injured Keegan Murray In Starting Lineup
Murray, whose offensive production regressed last season, sustained the injury late in the second quarter on Friday night. Known as a sniper, the 25-year-old forward shot a career-worst 34.3% from deep last year, though he still knocked down two triples a game. While Murray was shooting the ball better against the Blazers, he finished the preseason with 15 points on 37.5% shooting, including 0 of 6 from deep.
“We feel for him more so than anything. Feel for Keegan because, you know, that’s our brother, our teammate,” DeMar DeRozan said about Murray’s injury via YouTube.
Sacramento enters this season in a semi-transitional period. The Kings were better offensively, including Murray, under Doug Christie and won 40 games for the third straight season— the first time they accomplished the feat since the early 2000s. But the Kings failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, and they didn’t do much this offseason. They traded away valuable backup center Jonas Valanciunas and lost Jake LaRavia in free agency.
Now, the Kings will have to replace a solid 3-point shooter who was also one of the team’s better rebounders. A positive is that the Kings do have many potential candidates to replace him in the starting lineup and in production.
Who Could Replace Keegan Murray?
By the Kings’ timeline, Murray won’t be reevaluated until mid-November at the earliest. So, that means he won’t likely return to action until November 19, about a week after getting cleared, to ramp back up. Therefore, the 6-8 forward projects to miss at least the Kings’ first 14 contests.
Sacramento has an open roster spot on its 15-man roster and is $5.6 million below the luxury tax threshold. So, it is likely that the Kings will fill that spot. They have been linked to free agent Russell Westbrook since the summer, and there is reportedly still mutual interest between the sides.
“I’m told there is strong mutual interest between Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said a few days ago. “And the Kings need a reserve point guard. They were 29th in bench points and 29th in bench assists last season. Russell Westbrook helps with that, and he’s got relationships across that organization. Domantas Sabonis —he’s close with him and played with him. He played with Dennis Schroder as well, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine.”
Signing Westbrook would definitely help the Kings’ playmaking and ball-handling. The Kings’ ball-handling and facilitating stats took a hit after the trade deadline, when De’Aaron Fox was dealt, and it was an issue for them in their Western Conference Play-In Game. Through two preseason contests, the Kings have just a 1.22 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks in the bottom third of the league.
Trading Devin Carter
Westbrook is an elite distributor and has a career 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Schroder (2.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover), Malik Monk (2.0), and Devin Carter (2.3) are more scoring lead guards than facilitators. Meanwhile, LaVine has a porous 1.5 career assist-to-turnover ratio. Isaiah Stevens is an interesting prospect, but he is still raw and on a two-way contract. However, Westbrook wouldn’t help the Kings offset the loss of Murray’s 3-point shooting.
Schroder, DeRozan, Sabonis, and LaVine are locked into Christie’s starting five. If Westbrook does sign, he projects to headline the Kings’ second unit.
In the wake of Murray’s injury, Mark Stein of The Stein Line believes that the Kings could move Carter to open up a roster spot. The Kings were looking to trade either Monk or Carter this summer, presumably to open a roster spot for Westbrook. But, they ultimately decided to waive Terrence Davis, who had a non-guaranteed deal. Davis is currently in camp with the team.
With Murray’s injury, Sacramento may go with a big man to fill their 15th roster spot, according to Stein. Therefore, the Kings would have to open a place to sign Westbrook, which is why they need to make a trade.
Here is the thing. Unless the Kings are intrigued by a player that a team releases during training camp, that doesn’t make sense. The Kings have plenty of options to fill the void of Murray’s projected short-term absence, already on their 15-man roster. Plus, the Kings waived developmental forward Daniel Batcho and guard Mitch Mascari on Sunday; both players had signed Exhibit 10 deals a few days earlier. So, Davis is the only player left on a training camp deal.
Kings Starting Options
Carter, known for his defense, played in only 36 games last season and struggled as a deep reserve. Carter did show some promise in the Kings’ loss in the NBA Play-In Tournament, tallying 10 points and grabbing four boards in 21 minutes, and had a decent summer league session. He averages seven points, on 46.5% shooting from the field, and 2.5 rebounds in 31 total minutes, but 3-point shooting remains an issue.
With the addition of DeRozan last offseason, the Kings moved Murray to power forward. However, DeRozan does have plenty of experience at the four. Therefore, Christie could slide DeRozan there and insert Monk or Keon Ellis in the starting lineup. If that is the case, LaVine would slide to the small forward position.
Moving Monk to the starting lineup makes a lot of sense, particularly if Westbrook is signed before the beginning of training camp. Monk has spent most of his career coming off the bench, but he started 45 games last year. But the 27-year-old undersized shooting guard thrived the previous year with the Kings’ first unit, averaging 20.3 points and 6.5 assists. The Kings went 25-20 with a +1.8-point differential in the games he started.
Other Starting Options In Small Ball Lineups
Ellis is also a viable option if Christie decides to go small, though the 25-year-old wing is bigger than Monk. Ellis, coming off a career year, is an excellent perimeter defender and an outstanding three-point shooter, knocking down shots from beyond the arc at a 43% career clip. He has been a part-time starter the past two years, though he has been equally as efficient with the first or second unit. They went 15-13 with a +2.5 point differential with him in the starting lineup last season.
Nique Clifford, the No. 24 pick in 2025, is the final small lineup option for Christie. Clifford was Christie’s choice to start the second half against Portland following Murray’s injury. The 2025 NBA2K Summer League First Team selection has been very good this preseason. He has scored in double-figures in both contests, averaging a team-high 12.5 points and 5.5 assists along with 1.5 steals. However, defense and turnovers have been an issue for the 6-5 wing.
Either Monk or Ellis makes sense for Christie in small-ball situations. Ellis is the choice if Christie chooses size and defense. Both players will be significant parts of the Kings’ rotation. Clifford also projects to get plenty of run, but he is likely not quite ready for substantial minutes from the get-go.
If Christie Goes With A Traditional Lineup
Now, if Christie decides to go with a more traditional power forward to replace Murray, Dario Saric or Drew Eubanks seems like the choice. Saric saw action in only 16 games for Denver last year, despite the Nuggets’ frontcourt depth issues. He was productive in a reserve role for Golden State in 2023-24.
Saric played well for the Croatian national team this summer and was a revelation against the Blazers, after not playing in the Kings’ first preseason contest. He tallied 14 points, on 4 of 5 shooting, including 4 of 4 from deep, in 14 minutes of action versus Portland.
Eubanks has seen his role and production take a hit over the last two seasons as he has moved around a little. After playing for Phoenix in 2023-24, the 6-10 big man saw time with Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Eubanks projects as Sabonis’s primary backup. The 28-year-old veteran has looked good in the preseason, highly efficient on both ends of the floor. He scored 11 points against the Blazers, averaging 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks through the first two preseason games.
According to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson, Christie experimented with rookie Maxime Raynaud at the power forward position during Sunday’s practice. Raunaud had a strong summer league and has rebounded the ball well in the preseason, though he has struggled with efficiency through the first two games. He currently averages 4.5 points and 5.5 boards in 24 total minutes.
Last Word
As mentioned above, Christie does have plenty of options. Not only choosing which play to run, but also whether to focus on offense or defense. However, the most logical choice seems to be either to start Saric or Eubanks as the Kings are deeper in the frontcourt.
Saric is the better offensive player, particularly in spacing, while Eubanks is the more physical player and a better defender and rebounder. Perhaps Sacramento’s final two preseason games, against the Clippers (Wednesday) and Lakers (Friday), will provide some insight into Christie’s thinking.
© Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images
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