For most of this century, the Sacramento Kings have been one of the most poorly run organizations in the NBA. With exactly one playoff appearance since 2006 and no playoff series wins since 2004, Sacramento has been used to mediocrity.
This past season was a drama-filled one for the Kings. They fired Mike Brown, who had ended Sacramento’s playoff drought. That causes star guard De’Aaron Fox to request a trade. They brought in veterans DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine to lead the team, but we have seen that duo’s ceiling: the play-in tournament.
In the DeRozan trade, they gave up a 2030 pick swap that could end up being a lottery pick. Odds are, the Kings won’t be contending in 2030.
Sacramento does have promising young talent in Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, and the newly drafted Nique Clifford that they can build around. Therefore, over the course of the next few months, the King’s objective has never been clearer.
The Sacramento Kings need to blow it up and start over
LaVine, DeRozan, and Sabonis may put up gaudy numbers, but the reality is none of them fit together and the ceiling with this big 3 is capped. The Kings had a -3.5 net rating with those three on the court, including a 120.9 defensive rating, which would put them at the bottom of the league.
Neither of those three would command a ton of interest on the trade market due to their large contracts, but if Sacramento can get at least something out of trading them, then it is worth exploring. Gaining more financial flexibility and maybe a couple draft assets would be meaningful for a rebuild.
Having Murray, Ellis, and Clifford as the start of a young core would be a great start. Murray and Ellis shared a +5.6 net rating when on the court together last season, despite inconsistent roles for both of them.
Murray showed what he could do with a consistent offensive role in his second year (15 PPG, 57% TS), instead of standing in the corner, which he did a lot of this past season. Having veterans clog up meaningful minutes and touches stunts the growth of Sarcamento’s young guys.
The Kings need to embrace a rebuild instead of cutting corners
Sacramento did a great job of rebuilding with Fox, becoming a playoff team in 2023. Capitalizing on that success was important, but after a down year in 2024 where they won two less games, they overcorrected by bringing in DeRozan, instead of staying the course. Rocky contract talks with Brown prior to the 24-25 season didn’t help matters either.
Firing Brown was also an unfair decision, given the fact that Sacramento assembled a roster that didn’t fit. Yes, he should have played Ellis more, but the fact is that the Kings simply didn’t have enough to compete in a tough West. They didn’t have enough defense or players that complemented each other in order to build a sustainable winner.
Sacramento could be in a worse spot, but there is a way out. They have young players to build around, financial flexibility thanks to the Dennis Schroder signing (opened up their $14.1 million non-tax payer exception), and they own their first round picks from 2026-2032. Embracing a rebuild would be the prudent thing to do, so they can be ready to compete in a couple of years after some good drafts.
Hopefully, if the Kings do decide to go this route, they don’t rush it. Impatience has been their worst enemy for the better part of two decades. Now, it is time to be patient so the beam can be lit for a long time.
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July 13, 2025 | 12:00 pm
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What a shot 😱
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So tough 🔥
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Family first 🙌
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This duo 🥶
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COOP COMING THROUGH 🔥
