One Sacramento Kings player will have to wait until next season to participate in future beam-lightings.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday that Kings guard Kevin Huerter will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Huerter is expected to be fully recovered for the start of the 2024-25 season, Wojnarowski adds.
The ex-first-round pick Huerter was a driving force behind Sacramento’s stunning success last season thanks to his elite spot-up shooting and strong scoring ability. But Huerter had been struggling this season, averaging 10.2 points per game (his lowest since his rookie season) on mediocre 44/36/77 shooting splits. It is possible that Huerter’s production had been affected significantly by his shoulder injury (which had kept him out since March 20). Now he will undergo surgery to get the issue properly resolved.
In Huerter’s absence, the Kings, who are eighth in the West at 42-30, have inserted defensive-minded rookie Keon Ellis into the starting five. Though they should still have enough with 6MOY frontrunner Malik Monk and ex-lottery choice Davion Mitchell also coming in off the bench, the loss of Huerter for the year is a difficult one for a Sacramento squad that has already had some really frustrating moments this season.
