Sacramento Kings Approach to Having Both Sabonis and Raynaud

While Sacramento Kings fans will be able to get their first look at rookies Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud in Summer League action in Las Vegas next week, one question that has been circling is how Raynaud would fit on the roster with star Domantas Sabonis.

At Thursday's introductory press conference, we received a little insight into the team's plans.

Head coach Doug Christie was asked about how he plans on using Raynaud along with Sabonis, with the Kings now having two "double-double machines" on their hands.

"I think Max's talents speak for themselves first and foremost, but rebounding is never something that you don't need [more] of. His size, his skillset, I think with Domas, can mix in a big way. [Sabonis] shot 40% from above the arc and 50 in the corner. Max, just watching him play, he can shoot too. Pump fakes, puts the ball on the deck, so now you have playmakers in all the positions.

"That's kind of what we want to play is position-less basketball, with the ability to move the ball around the court and share it. Max is gonna have to take his bumps and bruises as a rookie. That's just how it goes...Should be seamless and easy, but it's sunny outside and I'm saying that sitting here. When it gets down there we'll have to see."

One factor that could help Raynaud is that he's already plenty familiar with Sabonis' game. He mentioned that in his sophomore year at Stanford, they were based their offense a lot around the Kings and the split-action they used to run, so the rookie is plenty familiar with how Sabonis operates.

The work will come in getting them to operate together, independently of one another, and not expecting Raynaud to mimic what Sabonis does when they'e on the court at the same time.

Kings Summer League action kicks off on July 10 when they'll face the Orlando Magic at 4:30 p.m. (PT), available on NBA.tv. They'll follow that up as the away team at the same venue (Cox Pavilion) on July 12 against the Chicago Bulls, before wrapping up with games against the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers on July 14 and 16.