The Sacramento Kings are heading into a season with one big question hanging over everything: what, exactly, will their offense look like?
A lot of the conversation keeps circling back to the Beam Team, but that stretch gets inflated into something bigger than it really was. It was basically one season - the first time the Kings reached the playoffs since Rick Adelman was coaching them nearly 20 years earlier.
It mattered, no question. It just didn’t last long.
That team’s success leaned heavily on Mike Brown as the head coach and De’Aaron Fox at point guard. Some familiar pieces are still around, including Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk, but at least two of the core Beam Team ingredients are gone.
The Kings may have addressed one issue by drafting Darius Acuff Jr., though Sacramento’s plan to throw him into the deep end and see whether he can learn to swim could break the kid first. The larger concern, though, sits on the sideline.
Doug Christie was hired because of his defensive mindset, and that part makes sense. Sacramento has spent far too long without much of a defensive presence at all, and if the team wants to matter in the league, it has to be able to get stops.
But winning still requires putting the ball in the basket. Christie should be able to give this roster some kind of defensive identity, but it’s far less clear whether he can do the same on offense, and that’s the real problem.
Brown’s tenure was built around offense, even if defense wasn’t a disaster during the Beam Team run. For this Kings group to actually move forward, Christie has to strike a workable balance between both ends of the floor, no matter where his instincts lie.
Sacramento has started assembling a roster that at least has the potential to be respectable offensively and defensively. Still, that has to be driven from the top. Christie needs to be just as locked in on offense as he is on defense, or this rebuild is going nowhere.
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Kings Still Face One Roster Decision After Westbrook Retirement
Russell Westbrooks retirement changed the immediate shape of Sacramentos roster picture, but it did not close the book on the Kings backcourt needs. With a 14th spot still open, the front office is looking for a veteran guard who can add depth and experience without disrupting the group that has already been assembled.
Victor Oladipo, Ben Simmons and Brandon Williams are all being considered as possible answers, giving Sacramento a mix of former All-Star pedigree and younger upside to sort through. Oladipo and Simmons both come with the intrigue of possible NBA comebacks, while Williams offers a more recent track record as an unrestricted free agent with productive minutes, leaving the Kings with one more choice to make before the roster feels complete. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Rotation Is Taking Shape Around Two Crucial Battles
With Sacramentos 2026-27 roster nearly set, the Kings are finally getting a clearer picture of how their nightly rotation could look once camp opens. Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis are projected as part of the starting group, while a bench unit built around Malik Monk, Nique Clifford, Alex Karaban, Precious Achiuwa and Maxime Raynaud gives the team a mix of scoring, size and developmental upside. The last signing still needed to meet the leagues minimum player requirement is only part of the puzzle now, because the real work is figuring out who fits where once the games start counting.
Two of the biggest questions are in the frontcourt and at the edge of the second unit, where Sacramento still has room for the shape of the rotation to change. The Kings like the flexibility theyve built into the roster, but there is still uncertainty around how the bench will be finalized and which bigs can carve out a steady role behind Sabonis. With roles not yet locked in, the coming months should tell the Kings whether the current projection holds or whether one of the younger pieces forces his way into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]