The Sacramento Kings are starting to collect something they haven’t had much of in a long time: real draft buzz.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic gave Sacramento’s 2026 draft an A+ and ranked it second among all 29 teams, a strong nod for a franchise that has spent most of the last 20 years dealing with self-inflicted setbacks and constant frustration. The only team above the Kings was the Memphis Grizzlies, who came away with Cameron Boozer, Richie Saunders, Isaiah Stewart, and Karim Lopez, with Lopez described as a solid pick at 21.
Sacramento’s haul was built around a few sharp moves. The Kings took point guard Darius Acuff Jr. with the No. 7 pick, then moved picks to land forward Alex Karaban at No.
- They finished the draft by adding guard Emanuel Sharp at No.
Vecenie also noted that the Portland Trail Blazers were the lone team without a first- or second-round pick, which should leave them with major chances in the undrafted market.
For Sacramento, the bigger story is the shift in perception. The Kings are still a team that usually gets overlooked by national media, and when they do come up, it has often been for the wrong reasons. But that has changed some since Scott Perry took over as general manager last year.
Perry’s first draft in 2025 helped build that momentum, with the rookies outperforming expectations and Maxime Raynaud emerging as a top-five rookie. Now the Kings have another draft that drew praise, and that matters for a rebuild that is still in its early stages.
The more positive attention Sacramento can stack up, the better. In a process like this, morale matters, and landing near the top of Vecenie’s rankings is the kind of recognition that can help keep the rebuild pointed in the right direction.
In Other News...
Kings Just Sent Another Clear Message About Their Backcourt Future
The back end of Sacramentos roster has been in motion for a while, and Killian Hayes is the latest guard to lose his spot. The Kings brought him in during an injury-ravaged stretch of the 2025-26 season, first on short-term help and later on a deal with a team option, but the move always looked like a stopgap rather than a long-term commitment.
What comes next says even more about how the Kings view their backcourt. Daeqwon Plowden has been in the mix and has flashed enough to stay on the staffs radar, and the organization is now weighing a bigger role for him as it trims down its guard picture. For a team trying to sort out who really belongs in the rotation, this is another small but telling signal about where the future is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Free Agency Plan May Signal A Much Bigger Frontcourt Shakeup
The Kings are heading into free agency with more frontcourt questions than usual, and Precious Achiuwa looks like one of the cleaner answers on their board. Sacramento is expected to pursue a return for the big man, a move that would keep a familiar piece in place while the team sorts through a busier set of possibilities around its interior rotation.
At the same time, the picture around the rest of the front line is anything but settled. There has been ongoing buzz around Jonathan Kuminga, though the reporting on Sacramentos level of interest has not been consistent, and Russell Westbrook is also expected to move on even as Washington has shown some interest. Taken together, it has the feel of a summer in which the Kings may be preparing for a much bigger reshuffle than a routine depth move. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Free Agency Buzz Just Raised The Stakes On A Franchise Pivot
The opening of free agency always tends to ripple beyond the teams making the first splash, and Sacramento has already been pulled into the conversation. Around the league, the Warriors are being tied to a possible run at LeBron James and a trade for Anthony Davis, while Kristaps Porziis has already agreed to stay in Golden State and Draymond Green and De'Anthony Melton have declined their options. For the Kings, that kind of early movement matters because the West is shifting quickly, and every front office is watching which names come off the board first.
Zach LaVines decision to opt into his contract for 2026-27 is another piece of the domino chain, especially with other contract calls and trade discussions still taking shape. Sacramento has spent the opening stretch of free agency in the same current as the rest of the league, where one move can alter the market for everyone else, and the next few days could tell the Kings whether they are looking at a narrow upgrade path or something far more dramatic. [Read more 🡒]