MUMBAI, India -- Instead of preparing for the 2019-20 season in the comfort of Sacramento, the Kings have traveled 8,353 miles to play their first two preseason games.
On Thursday, the team held its first practice since arriving in India, and the Kings will take on the Pacers Friday night at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai.
For a team that will log the third-most miles traveled during the regular season, flying around the world is not exactly the most optimal way to begin the new campaign.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
But new coach Luke Walton isn't worried about the Kings' trip to India disrupting the team's preparation for the upcoming season.
"We're still able to get done what we need to get done," Walton told the media after practice. "We have to be a little more precise with how we want to get everything in, but it's worth it. The NBA becoming more international and more global -- look at all the talent we have in the NBA, players from other countries. We got guys on our team from all over Canada, Serbia, and none of that would be possible.
"The game wouldn't be as good without the international flavor that it has now. So it takes teams going across to different countries, continents, kind of showing what our game is all about, then I'm all for it."
While the Kings are returning a large portion of their core, they are also trying to integrate offseason additions in Dewayne Dedmon, Trevor Ariza, Cory Joseph, Richaun Holmes, and draft picks Justin James and Kyle Guy.
NBA
Walton wants to use the two preseason games to work on rotations and to see how the new players fit in.
"Because we're a new group, we're trying to see that too," Walton said. "We're going to have our guys out there, we're going to be competing. But we do have to see some different lineups together, some matchups we're looking to use against other teams."
As for the starters, Walton plans to ease them in. With 16 players that need to see action in Mumbai, guys like De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes likely won't reach the 30-minute mark.
"That will vary a little bit as the game is going," Walton said. "They won't be playing high 30s, but they'll be somewhere in the 20s, high 20-minute range for some of them, others will be a little lighter. But we got a lot of guys we need to see and evaluate, so mid-20s."
[RELATED: Fox ready for next step in third year]
Walton and his coaching staff have a lot to learn about their team, and the first two games in India will go a long way in the evaluation process.