Trey Lyles had a weird year. In many ways, it was a better year than last season, and yet it still felt like a little bit of a letdown. In that way, Lyles’ year mirrors that of the Kings as a whole. The numbers aren’t bad, they just don’t seem to have the same impact that we were looking for. For comparison on the numbers:
2022-23:
7.6 PTS, 4.1 REB, 0.9 AST, 0.4 STL, 0.4 BLK, 36.3 3P% on 3.2 3PA
2023-24:
7.2 PTS, 4.4 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.3 BLKL, 38.4 3P% on 3.8 3PA
Overall, Lyles put up similar numbers, but increased his 3 point volume and efficiency. But Lyles put up those similar raw numbers despite playing more minutes per game, jumping from 16.9 to 20.0 minutes per game. Lyles also struggled with injuries this season, missing a lengthy stretch with a lingering calf injury. In all, Lyles played in just 58 games this year, as opposed to 74 the season before.
Lyles by no means had a bad season, and he’s not the reason for the Kings woes this year, but he also didn’t help the way many of us (myself included) expected him to this season. For me, the biggest issues with Lyles’ season was inconsistency. For the season Lyles had 31 of 58 games this season where he registered fewer than 5 rebounds. He had 16 games where he scored fewer than 4 points. 39 games where he scored 9 points or less. For a Kings team that desperately needed bench production, Lyles had a plenty of opportunity and often failed to deliver. For all our complaints about Harrison Barnes’ slumps, Lyles’ offensive slumps often slipped under the radar.
For all the inconsistency on offense, it’s worth taking a moment to recognize Lyles’ defense. Trey would often be tasked with guarding bigger opponents, or fast wings, and Lyles performed well against whatever was thrown at him. For the season, Lyles posted a defensive rating of 110.2, better than any Kings big man other than Alex Len. Lyles’ Net Rating of 7.7 was also second only to Len (excluding players who only played a handful of minutes).
Lyles had a good season for the Kings overall, but it could have been even better. If Lyles can find consistency, he’d be a huge factor for Sacramento’s success.
Trey enters next season as an expiring contract. On a very reasonable $8 million expiring deal, Lyles could be a valuable trade chip in the offseason or at the trade deadline, especially if the Kings are concerned about losing Lyles next summer. It’ll be a challenging decision for the front office, and it’ll be…
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