All offseason, the Sacramento Kings have been defined by one big question: who is the next franchise player?
The answer, at least on paper, was supposed to be Darius Acuff Jr. The Kings took him with the seventh overall pick, and the hope around the organization is still that he grows into that kind of centerpiece. But the recent addition of Ben Simmons has opened the door to a different kind of possibility - one Sacramento has to keep in the back of its mind.
There isn’t much expectation attached to this team heading into the season. That part is clear.
But if a few things break the right way, the Kings could become one of the league’s surprise stories. And if that happens, Simmons would have to be a major reason why, because it would mean he had found his way back to All-Star form.
That idea has already been floated before. The bigger question now is what it would mean for the Kings as a whole if it actually happened.
The long-term plan should still center on Acuff, who is only 19. That doesn’t change.
But the timetable around him is less straightforward than it looks from the outside. Sacramento has several veterans who could either help sooner than expected or regain enough value to become useful trade chips by the deadline.
For a while, the thinking has been that the best return for Domantas Sabonis or Zach LaVine would come in the form of picks and young prospects. But there’s another path if the Kings decide to lean into the roster they already have: bringing back a veteran who fits better with the pieces already in place.
That would still count as building around Acuff, just not in the usual slow-burn way teams build around a 19-year-old. The idea would be to put him in a cleaner, better-fitting environment and let the rest of the roster support him from day one.
And make no mistake, this roster doesn’t look especially young when you zoom out. Keegan Murray is already 26.
Nique Clifford is 24. Maxime Raynaud is 23.
Even Acuff’s rookie classmates, Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp, are 23 and 22. That isn’t a criticism.
It just means Sacramento has more of a win-now shape than people might assume.
The same goes for the rest of the group. Precious Achiuwa, De'Andre Hunter, and Malik Monk are all established veterans at this stage of their careers.
That’s what makes the hypothetical interesting. There is a version of this season where Sacramento decides to swing bigger than expected.
For that to happen, everything would need to click. Acuff would have to meet expectations, or maybe even exceed them.
Simmons would have to do something that shocks the league and rediscover his All-Star level. And the younger players would need to take real steps forward, with Karaban and Sharp showing they can help right away.
Is that likely? No. The Kings are projected for 19 wins for a reason.
Still, as a late-offseason thought experiment, it’s hard not to see why the idea has some pull.
In Other News...
Ben Simmons Just Put The Kings In A High-Stakes Debate
After being away from the NBA for more than a year, Ben Simmons is back with a new opportunity in Sacramento, and the conversation around him has already turned into one of those debates every team would rather have in theory than in practice. Around the league, voices like Richard Jefferson, Draymond Green and Patrick Beverley have weighed in with different takes on what Simmons still can bring, which only adds to the curiosity surrounding how the Kings plan to use him.
Scott Perry appears to have a clear role in mind, seeing Simmons as a backup point guard who can add defensive versatility and give Sacramento more lineup options. The appeal is obvious for a team looking to squeeze value out of the margins, but the bigger question is whether Simmons can settle into that job and give the Kings something they have been trying to find, or whether the discussion around his return will keep growing louder than the role itself. [Read more 🡒]
Kings May Have Let Another Point Guard Fix Slip Away
Mac McClungs next stop is overseas, with the high-flying guard signing with Basquet Girona of Spains Liga ACB after a five-season journey that wound through 11 different NBA and G League teams. For Sacramento, it is another reminder of how often the point guard conversation circles back to the same issue: the Kings have had trouble finding a steady answer there, even as McClung kept putting up the kind of production and accolades in the G League that usually force a team to take a longer look.
McClungs rsum includes multiple G League MVP honors and a championship, but the NBA part of his career never turned into the kind of long-term foothold that seemed possible at various points. That is where the Kings regret angle comes in, because a player with his burst, confidence and rsum might have been worth a deeper commitment for a team still searching for reliable backcourt stability. Instead, Sacramento watches him move on to Europe with the same familiar question hanging over its own point guard plan. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Have A Real Reason To Watch Jalen Duren Standoff
The restricted free-agent market around Jalen Duren has started to shape up as one of the more notable front-office storylines of the summer, and Sacramento has a real reason to keep an eye on it. Detroit has reportedly put a five-year offer on the table worth around $190 million, while Duren is said to be pushing for a deal that clears the $200 million mark over the same span, a gap that reflects how quickly the price tag on young big men has climbed.
For the Kings, the intrigue is bigger than just another name on the market. Sacramento is among the teams reportedly interested in Duren, and he has multiple serious suitors as the October 1 deadline for signing the qualifying offer gets closer. With no final decision yet, the next move could help determine whether the Kings stay in the hunt or watch a prized target come off the board. [Read more 🡒]