SACRAMENTO – As the 2024-25 NBA season begins with a lot of moving forward, the Kings have gotten most of the band back together for their season opener Thursday night at the Golden 1 Center.

But it also presented coach Mike Brown with some difficult decisions that will – in the grand scheme of things – take some time to resolve.

Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and Trey Lyles (groin) were both carted off in time for Thursday’s game after missing training camp and five preseason games.

Rising young guard Keon Ellis represented Huerter at shooting guard from the end of last season through preseason, but despite Ellis’ impressive presence in a small group, Huerter reclaimed his top five role alongside De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.

As he intensified his work, Huerter, as expected, played the fewest minutes among the starters at just under 20.

The rest of the group played almost twice as much – or more.

A 35-year-old DeRozan in the 16th grade played more than 42 minutes. Sabonis played 38 and Fox was just behind him with 37. Murray, the youngest of the group, played a team-best 43 minutes.

That’s something Brown doesn’t want to see happen every night.

“You can tell just by the minutes that I’m still not happy with my rotation,” Brown said after Sacramento’s 117-115 loss on Thursday. “I don’t want DeMar to average 43 minutes a game. I don’t want Keegan to play an average of 43 minutes per game. And I have to keep working on that to help them. “I don’t want Domas either” at 38 and I don’t want Fox at 37.

“So again, that’s something I need to continue to work on with the group to figure out what will be good for us taking turns going forward – and it may take some time.”

The first two players off the bench on Thursday were Ellis and, of course, Sacramento sixth man Malik Monk. Lyles was next before 7-foot center Alex Len checked in with about a minute left in the first quarter.

Brown went deep nine times for most of the game before feeling the need to shake things up in the fourth period, just as the Kings’ collapse was beginning. He turned to his bench and selected veteran sharpshooter Doug McDermott, who has been in Sacramento for less than 10 days after signing a one-year deal with the Kings last Wednesday.

Monk played the most minutes without a substitute with 26, also no surprise. Ellis and Lyles played about 11 minutes each, while Len and McDermott played just under six minutes.

Colby Jones, Isaac Jones and Jordan McLaughlin were all DNPs (Did Not Play).

It will take time for Huerter and Lyles to get back into the flow of things – and the Kings know that.

But the change in the lineup so close to the start of the season made it more difficult to get used to it.

“It just takes a while to get used to it,” Sabonis said after the game. “We didn’t play with DeMar, but we played with Kev and Trey. And then the lineup just changes. Keon returns to the second unit. So there are obviously some adjustments, but we just have to figure it out quicker.

“We all know how to play basketball, so we just have to go out there and do our job.”

DeRozan is a six-time NBA All-Star and one of the game’s best scorers. He arrived in Sacramento via a sign-and-trade this offseason and immediately began private workouts with some of his new teammates before reporting to training camp for his first official workouts with his new team.

He adapts to kings, and kings adapt to him. And now, with the addition of Huerter and Lyles, he’s adjusting – once again – to a new lineup and different rotations.

But he is considered one of the truest professionals for a reason. He can adapt and adjust in almost any situation. This is what he has done since he became king and what he wants to continue to do.

“I think the hardest thing is helping them (Lyles and Huerter) find their rhythm because they haven’t been able to do training camp with us,” DeRozan said. “They missed pre-season and when you miss so many little things it makes it harder for them to get the rhythm going. I think that’s the hard part. However, once their rhythm gets going, it becomes much easier for us.” .

“… We were rusty in a lot of things, but the effort was there. We competed, we moved the ball. Once we get the rhythm together, I think everything will fit together perfectly. We understand what guys like. Getting the ball, getting to their spots, everything. But overall I’m happy with how aggressive we were, how we competed. It’s just a shame that we didn’t get the victory.

It’s Game 1, but if there’s one lesson the Kings learned from last season, it’s that every contest matters. Brown will continue to experiment with different lineups and rotations, but he needs to find the ones that work — soon.

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