Late-season injuries may have done the Kings a favor in one important way: they forced the young guys into real NBA minutes, and that experience now looks like part of Sacramento’s depth chart heading into 2026-27.
Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford both averaged more than 30 minutes in March and April, while Dylan Cardinal got above 20 minutes as well. A few months earlier, those chances simply weren’t there because the roster was healthier. The result was more than just extended run - it was live game experience that summer league, five-on-five work and training camp can’t truly match.
That late push has quietly changed the feel of the bench. Ethan Minton, who covers the Kings for The Lead, wrapped up a mailbag by pointing out how much deeper this team can be if everyone is available.
"The Kings are quietly becoming a very deep team," Minton wrote. "This reader wrote this response before the Kings signed Simmons, and he can play the point or forward. Not to mention, two-way players like Mogbo add their own skills to the equation."
Sacramento didn’t have much room to spend, so the offseason stayed relatively quiet. Even so, general manager Scott Perry found ways to add pieces on modest deals.
The biggest one was Ben Simmons, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Perry was looking for a backup playmaker for when rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. is off the floor, and Simmons fits that job description. At 6-foot-10, he can operate as a point forward, see how defenses are reacting, and make the kind of reads teams need from a high-level creator.
His best trait is the grab-and-go game, turning defense into offense and getting Sacramento into transition for easy fast-break points.
The Kings also brought in former Toronto Raptors forward Jonathan Mogbo on a two-way deal on July 2. Mogbo brings a defensive edge, which helps address another area that hurt the team. He stood out in summer league, and Minton went so far as to say Sacramento should consider moving him to a standard contract.
That kind of flexibility matters over an 82-game season, especially on back-to-backs when veterans are likely to sit. Mogbo gives the Kings another option, and the young players who got thrown into action last season have already shown they can handle more responsibility.
Perry drafted Raynaud and Clifford and signed Cardwell in his first year as general manager, giving Sacramento a stronger base to work from. The Kings may not have made much noise this offseason, but they’ve built a foundation that could help them get out of a rebuild sooner rather than later.
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Still, Miamis interest may come with a familiar caveat for a player trying to restart his momentum. Carter has had trouble staying healthy and finding steady minutes, and Heat insider Ira Winderman noted the team could choose to keep its powder dry rather than move quickly. For a club that likes to weigh fit carefully, the question is not just whether Carter belongs in the mix, but whether Miami wants to use one of its chances now or wait for a different name to surface on the buyout market. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Are Quietly Making Changes That Could Shape Their Entire Support Staff
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Joe Ajike is in as head of player development, and the rest of the updates stretch well beyond the court, with new names and promotions in scouting, security, data science and video coordination. For a team trying to tighten every edge it can find, those moves matter because they speak to how the Kings want to operate, even if the most important part of the picture is still the one they have not fully shown yet. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Will Want To See What Boston Sees In Devin Carter
Devin Carter is getting another shot, this time with the Boston Celtics after the Hawks waived him and opened the door for him to land with a new team. The former first-round pick will head into training camp competing for a roster spot or a two-way deal, which gives him a fresh path after a brief stint with Sacramento last season.
For Kings fans, the intrigue is obvious because Carter showed enough in his time in Sacramento to keep his name in the mix elsewhere. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.4 minutes over 38 games, and now Boston gets the chance to see whether there is still more to unlock in a player Sacramento already had a look at. [Read more 🡒]