With the start of the 2024-25 NBA season just a day away, the biggest question for Mike Brown and the Kings is who will start in the backcourt alongside star point guard De'Aaron Fox.

Brown appeared to put those questions to rest on Tuesday, stating that Kings shooting guard Kevin Huerter will return to his starting role when he is cleared for Thursday night's home opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center.

“I think he’s close,” Brown told reporters after practice. “They didn’t give me the green light for him to play on Thursday. But I think he's close. He looks good. It seems like he didn’t miss anything at all.”

“If he plays, he’ll probably start. But now we have to get the green light to see if he will play.”

With that, Brown cleared up another hot topic regarding the Kings and their identity for 2024-25. Two seasons ago, they thrived on their historic offense and reached the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons. Last season, their shooting numbers went down, but their defense improved. They missed the playoffs.

When entering the new campaign, they must establish their identity. And if Huerter, who hasn't played a significant game since mid-March, is actually the starter against young Kings guard Keon Ellis on Thursday night, then that's pretty obvious.

Defense will not be important for any team led by Brown. They will continue to make progress individually and as a team defensively but also offensively has be their focus.

And returning to that elite offense will be the key to distinguishing itself from its opponents every night while competing with the best in the Western Conference.

“I think it’s big,” Kings third-year forward Keegan Murray said of the offense (h/t The Deuce & Mo Podcast). “Defensively we want to be there every night, but of course there will be times when the other team can do it. Our offense, especially in my first year here, kept us in a lot of games.”

“Once we get to the fourth quarter with the guys we have on our team, I think our chances are good.”

The guys on their team include Fox, double-double, triple-double and rebounding king Domantas Sabonis, as well as new-to-Sacramento but established NBA star DeMar DeRozan, rounding out the new Big Three in the 916.

Murray is the fourth player to join the Big Three in Sacramento's starting lineup, and if possible, Huerter will solve the puzzle.

Huerter was cleared to play full-contact court on October 11 after a lengthy shoulder recovery that included surgery to repair a torn left labrum. For the first time this offseason, he participated fully in practice throughout the week and was officially cleared to play on Thursday on Wednesday.

Murray, Sabonis and Brown spoke to the media after practice on Tuesday, each with their assessment and praise of Huerter's commitment and physique. And of course everyone was overjoyed to be able to share the floor with the sniper once again.

When asked how much Huerter can help the team and what he brings to it, Sabonis answered without hesitation.

“Shoot, shoot,” he said firmly. “He is a tall, athletic winger and has an excellent IQ. He can do more than just shoot. I feel like everyone knows that.”

During the 2022-23 season – his first in Sacramento – Huerter averaged a career-high 15.9 points on 48.5 percent shooting from the field and 40.2 percent from 3-point range, with 3.3 rebounds , 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.4 minutes through 75 games.

His numbers dipped last season in 64 games and 59 starts, averaging 10.2 points on 44.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent from downtown in 24.4 minutes.

The shooting slumps and offensive difficulties aren't a concern for Brown, however, and he remains confident in the 26-year-old's ability to score points and impact games in other ways. This also applies to the rest of the team.

“He helps a lot,” Brown said. “Last year we didn’t shoot free throws well. We didn't shoot the 3-ball well. We paid the price for having to accept major losses in both areas over the course of the year. Hopefully we can shoot it at a higher level.” Start from the beginning instead of in spurts like last year and then knock down free throws. Whether it's a full court or half court player like Kevin and even a guy like Doug (McDermott) and their pace just adds a certain gravity to the game because they move so well.

“They know when to back off, when to exit a DHO, when to stop, when to go fast, when to slow down. And all of that is hard to guard when you have people with IQs like her. That's how it is. It's definitely a great dimension to have on our team that's a little different than the other things we have.”

When Huerter suffered the season-ending injury in March, he was replaced by Ellis, the undrafted starter-turned-two-way player who single-handedly turned the Kings' defense around, blocking open shots when needed.

In those 15 games with Ellis as a starter, he averaged 9.8 points on 47.2 percent shooting from the field and 44.6 percent from distance, with 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0 .5 blocks in 27 minutes.

Ellis was a starter throughout the season that saw Sacramento finish 0-5 (through no fault of Ellis, of course), but Brown always made it clear that his starting role was never a guarantee – despite the obvious impact he had on the season brings defensive end of the floor.

But Brown has made up his mind and remains loyal to his man Huerter – for now. But that could change too.

Brown said he doesn't like to see players lose starting spots due to injuries, so Huerter will resurface with the top five. But when expectations don't match reality, Brown has no problem changing that quickly.

Sure, defense wins championships. The Kings probably won't be a top-10 defensive team this season, but should emerge somewhere in the middle if everyone plays along. For now, however, it will be their offense that will propel them to the top of the West on their way to not only reaching the playoffs, but advancing and competing there.

“That’s kind of been our team since we got here,” Sabonis said of the Kings’ offense. “The coach puts emphasis on defense, it’s something we work on every day and we want to get better at it.”

“But everyone knows our offense has been in the top 10 in the league for a few years now, so we need to maintain that and improve.”

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