After getting a taste of the playoffs in 2023, last year's Kings could not repeat the same magic. They only lost two more games and suffered several injuries down the stretch that left them shorthanded. However, the rest of the Western Conference also got much stronger, and the Kings probably weren't any closer to getting out of the first round. The Kings will look to aggressively improve the roster this summer and will seek upgrades in the trade market to improve their starting lineup and bench. But they also need to maintain what they have. Malik Monk is entering unrestricted free agency and is limited to offering him a four-year, $78 million contract. Will that be enough to retain him or will another team with cap space steal him away? It will be a challenge for the Kings to accomplish all their goals, which could require an expensive payroll for them to improve over rival teams in the West and sustain their core for several more seasons. 0:00 Intro 0:29 Kings 2024-25 payroll analysis 2:28 Malik Monk 3:31 Brandon Ingram trade scenario if Monk leaves 6:32 Scenario where Monk stays and Kings open up the full mid-level 7:42 Same scenario but they also trade for Kyle Kuzma 9:24 Why this build is sustainable with incoming raises for De'Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray Please subscribe and share if you enjoyed this. You can follow me on: Twitter/X: @YossiGozlan Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, and TikTok: @YossiGozlanNBA You can also view my salary cap sheets at: www.capsheets.com
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