Sacramento Kings: Is the current core good enough for a playoff run?

The Sacramento Kings have done a nice job piecing together a young, quality roster. But the question remains, is their current core good enough to make a playoff run?

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about this Sacramento Kings team right now. They host a young, promising core and are likely one of the deeper teams in the NBA.

And their up-tempo style could make for some exciting gameplay this season.

But with optimism must always come a bit of realism. This Kings team is fun, they’re exciting, and they could likely go 12-deep with their rotation, but it’s also fair to argue that they lack the top-end talent to be able to take them far.

Perhaps to even take them to the playoffs.

Normally, a roster like this wouldn’t be an issue. But in an incredibly challenging Western Conference, star power is needed to find success. And the Kings might find that out the hard way this season unless things unfold in a certain way.

Marvin Bagley is a promising front-court piece but he’s at least a couple of years away from reaching his full potential. A realistic form of optimism for this season would be to see the former Duke star develop into a quality starter with promise of stardom down the line.

Buddy Hield remains one of the very best shooters in the entire NBA but he’s limited as a player. He isn’t as well-rounded enough to be considered an All-Star talent and he likely never will be.

And veterans like Harrison Barnes and Dewayne Dedmon continue to serve as very solid starting-caliber players, although they’ll never be confused with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Perhaps the Kings’ best chance at stardom this season is De’Aaron Fox.

The thrilling young playmaker broke out in his sophomore NBA season after a concerning rookie campaign. If Fox could take a similar leap as he did from year one to year two this season, the Kings might very well be seeing their first All-Star since DeMarcus Cousins.

And therein lies the key to success this season. A well-rounded, young core can only get the Kings so far. The future may look bright with players like Fox and Bagley only getting better over time, but can we really count on that success this season?

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The key to pushing for the playoffs this season will be the continued development of the team’s young core.

We’re talking Fox putting together an All-Star caliber season and Bagley becoming more than just a solid starter. We’re talking Hield developing more of his offensive game and continuing to improve on defense.

The Kings could play their brand of basketball complete with exciting fast-paced offense and a deep bench, but that might not get them over 40 wins in the West this season — as sad as that may be.

That isn’t to say that the Kings can’t or won’t make the postseason this season, far from it — anything could happen in the world of the NBA. Teams ahead of them could surprisingly struggle, the Kings could overachieve, and injuries are always lurking around every corner.

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But we already saw through two preseason games the struggles this team could encounter. Yes, it is only preseason, but the issues with turnovers and defensive mishaps are concerning nonetheless.

This team has holes — as every team does — but they may not have the star power to make up for their deficiencies and compete with a lot of the Western Conference.

Perhaps Fox and company could surprise and take another huge step forward this season. After all, no one saw a 39-win, ninth-seed in the conference season coming last year.

But it’s fair to question whether the Kings’ current core is enough to get the team over the hump. Still, the season is yet to even begin so perhaps it’s best we just sit back and enjoy the ride for once.

At the end of the day, Sacramento Kings fans deserve a little positivity after years of pessimism.