Kings Advised to Bench F Harrison Barnes Entering 2023-24 NBA Season

As we enter the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season, the Sacramento Kings currently eye the same starting lineup they ended last year with. Solidified with two All-NBA cornerstones in G De’Aaron Fox and C Domantas Sabonis, the team has surrounded their key pieces with some complimentary talent to lead this franchise to their long-yearned winning basketball.

However, some have begun to advocate for the Kings to adjust their starting five before shifting into next season. After coming up short in seven games to the Golden State Warriors during last year’s playoffs, making some slight tweaks to this lineup might be the needed steps to take this team to the next level.

That change could come within the frontcourt, as Enzo Flojo of ClutchPoints voiced his thoughts on a potential swapping of newly added F Sasha Vezenkov into the starting lineup:

Firstly, [Harrison Barnes’s] scoring efficiency has been less than stellar, ranking as the second lowest among wing players in terms of overall scoring efficiency. Furthermore, his scoring output has seen a decline since his tenure with the Dallas Mavericks...Barnes is still good, sure, but we may see diminishing returns from the 31-year-old in the upcoming season...As such, he could be replaced in the starting five. The prospective candidate for taking over Barnes' role is Sasha Vezenkov, who previously earned recognition as the Euroleague MVP...As the Kings aim to fortify their roster and embark on a deeper playoff journey, Vezenkov could potentially fill the void by offering the offensive potency and efficiency that Barnes may have been lacking.

Vezenkov has gained a ton of hype across the offseason due to his immense success in the EuroLeague. Signed to a three-year deal with Sacramento, he could find a solid role within the rotation to provide some shot-making and stretch-ability. However, will he be ready to take over Barnes’s starting spot from day one?

The idea seems hard to imagine. Since joining the Kings via mid-season trade in 2019, Barnes has started in every one of his 317 games played for the franchise. He’s shown no signs of a drop in production, remaining one of the most consistent role players in the league since being drafted by the Golden State Warriors.

During his 82 games played last season, Barnes averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting at a nice pace from beyond the arc (37.4% on over four attemps per game). Slotting in nicely as the team’s power forward, he provides stable offensive production that works well next to playmakers like Fox and Sabonis.

If Vezenkov enters the league on fire from range and scoring at a madly efficient rate, seeing a switch in the first five could be a possibility to foresee. However, the likely scenario is seeing Barnes return to his long-standing starting forward spot next to sophomore F Keegan Murray and C Domantas Sabonis.

Follow Inside The Kings on Facebook and X.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Kings news videos and live-stream podcasts!