
Luka Doncic is on the Los Angeles Lakers, De'Aaron Fox is on the San Antonio Spurs, and plenty of other players were moved at the deadline. Dan Bruno recaps the hectic action.
Murray struggled in the Kings' first two games of the post-De'Aaron Fox era, but he was able to contribute a strong line in this game. Murray's 15 shot attempts were second on the team, which is an encouraging improvement after he took 16 shots across Sacramento's two previous games. It's unclear if this is a trend that will continue, but if it does, and Murray can continue to contribute defensive stats, Murray has a path to providing standard league value. Keep an eye on this situation as the new-look Kings play more games.
A few of Sabonis' recent performances haven't been to his standards, but he dominated this game and helped the Kings end a two-game slide. He was held to just 10 points on 2-of-6 shooting in their loss on Thursday, so this type of performance was encouraging. Sacramento is still trying to figure out this lineup will work with Zach LaVine replacing De'Aaron Fox, and Sabonis has seen his assists take a hit over the last few games. However, he'll continue to be one of the best rebounders in the league regardless of who is on the floor.
Monk's production reflected that this game was a tale of two halves. Monk was held scoreless in the first half, but he was able to figure things out after the break. Sacramento outscored the Pelicans 45-22 in the third quarter, which decided the game. The new-look Kings are still trying to figure out how things work without De'Aaron Fox, and Monk has struggled. However, he has had an excellent season, and he should continue to see a usage bump as the team's point guard.
Wembanyama didn't shoot the ball incredibly well Saturday. He was 5-of-12 from the field including 1-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. The 21-year-old power forward was an absolute beast on the defensive end as he recorded four steals and four blocks. He's recored at least three blocks in four of his last six games. Wemby's length and athleticism makes him easily the best defensive player in basketball. He and De'Aaron Fox didn't provide enough scoring in this one as the duo combined for less than 30 points in a close loss.