Keegan Murray headlines Kings’ roster for California Classic with expanded leadership role

The reigning NBA summer league MVP will be back for an encore performance with the Sacramento Kings.

Second-year forward Keegan Murray is on the team’s summer league roster and is expected to play in both games in the California Classic next week at Golden 1 Center, Kings assistant and summer league head coach Luke Loucks said Thursday.

“Probably just playing a couple (games),” Murray said. “I don’t know the exact number right now.”

The Kings will play the Golden State Warriors on Monday and the Miami Heat on Wednesday before traveling to Las Vegas for a minimum of four games beginning July 7. Loucks said “we’ll see about Vegas” regarding the plan for Murray following next week’s games in Sacramento.

Murray was an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection after making a rookie record 206 3-pointers last season. The reasoning for playing in the summer league, while many other NBA players are in vacation mode, is to continue his development on and off the court with the opportunity to take on a leadership role for incoming rookies Colby Jones and Jalen Slawson, who are expected to play heavy minutes in summer league.

“I proved that I’m a really good shooter,” Murray said. “But there’s a lot of areas I want to work on and have worked on this summer. Just try to expand my game as much as possible.”

Murray said he has been at the Kings’ facility “every day” working out with All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox, which includes playing one-on-one. Murray hinted that he hadn’t beaten Fox yet, but he’s getting close. When he’s not at the facility, he has been playing weekend rounds of golf with his best score coming in at 83.

Much of the discussion surrounding the Kings these days pertains to free agency, which begins Friday afternoon. The Kings have nearly $35 million in cap space after dealing center Richaun Holmes to the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 24 pick in a cost-cutting trade during last week’s NBA draft. That led to speculation they could be in the market for a possible upgrade over Harrison Barnes, who is slated for unrestricted free agency.

But regardless of what happens with free agency, the Kings believe taking another step and advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs will require Murray to evolve into one of the their most reliable players.

“Keegan, emotionally, has taken a huge step,” Loucks said. “And we’re going to need him to. I think Fox has done an unbelievably job being a big brother to him. And those two working together, to me, is pretty special.

“(Keegan’s) finding his voice. Mike (Brown) said the other day, it reminds us a little bit of Klay (Thompson). I wasn’t there, but Klay his rookie season barely spoke, and then all of a sudden he got comfortable on the court and then he started finding his voice. And part of it is us as a staff making him find his voice. Part of is just that natural progression of him being comfortable not only speaking, but leading.”

Summer roster

The Kings announced their roster for the California Classic on Thursday. It features Jones and Slawson, their two second-round draft picks. Jones has an outside chance to develop into a rotational player right away as a well-rounded guard standing 6-foot-6 with the size to defend wings. Slawson, drafted 54th overall, is more likely competing for a roster spot.

Kessler Edwards, who reportedly had his $1.9 million team option picked up, will also be on the summer league roster. Edwards cracked the rotation in spurts during the regular season last year after being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the trade deadline.

Edwards started three games and appeared in 22, hitting 34.9% of his 3-pointers and proving to be one of the Kings’ best perimeter defenders. At 6-8, the team believes he has a chance to grow into a more prominent role in his third NBA season. Edwards turns 23 in August.

Two-way players from last year, center Neemias Queta and Keon Ellis, are also on the summer league roster. A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday the Kings have extended $1.8 million qualifying offers to both players.

Another name

Another notable player on the roster is Xavier point guard and Oakland native Souley Boum.

Boum and jones were teammates at Xavier. Boum played in college for five seasons while averaging over 15.0 points per game.