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According to Cleaning the Glass, Lyles began Friday playing 82 percent of his minutes at power forward. That changed against the Pelicans, as Joan Beringer exited after suffering a broken nose in the second quarter. In the second half, Lyles logged 18 minutes, seven more than starting center Rudy Gobert (eight points, 11 rebounds and one block), and recorded five points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. A face-up four, Lyles missed all four of his three-point attempts. However, his role may expand if the need for a custom facemask sidelines Beringer for a few games.

Lyles signed with Real Madrid last September after a decade in the NBA, with the last four seasons in Sacramento. The veteran big will provide some depth at the power forward and center positions, and he’s a capable floor spacer, which may help make up for Naz Reid’s departure. However, it is unlikely he is anywhere near as productive as Reid was.

Lyles will leave the NBA to join one of the best teams in Europe. Lyles, who spent the last four seasons in Sacramento, could return to the NBA in the future, but won’t be part of the Kings’ frontcourt depth next season. That could certainly open the door for more minutes for Maxime Raynaud, as well as veterans like Drew Eubanks and Dario Saric.

Lyles continued to start with Keegan Murray (back) out. The 29-year-old power forward played 38 minutes and was -9 in the eight-point loss to the Nuggets. Lyles is unlikely to keep this role going into next season, but he’s being given the opportunity to put up consistent points and rebounds down the stretch of this season.

With Domantas Sabonis sidelined, Lyles has been able to step up as a solid offensive option off the bench for Sacramento. He did plenty of damage early on and had 14 points with four three-pointers in the first half. He ended up setting a new season-high for scoring despite not hitting any triples in the second half. Jonas Valanciunas only played 15 minutes on Thursday while Lyles logged 24 minutes. Clearly, even if Lyles still isn’t playing a massive role, he has been the preferred option over the last few games.

After missing Friday’s game against the Suns, Lyles will be back in the lineup against Memphis. He’ll fill out his typical role off the bench, which hasn’t been enough for him to be a factor in fantasy basketball.

Lyles did not play in Friday’s loss to the Suns, Sacramento’s second game in as many nights. The Kings’ starters played more minutes with Lyles unavailable, and reserve Jake LaRavia only logged 16 minutes off the bench. LaRavia is not worth rostering in most fantasy leagues, regardless of Lyles’ availability.